The Four Marauders' (Plus a Teacher's Pet's) First
by Too Many Cheering Charms
Summary: James Potter, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's first year at Hogwarts.
1. James

A/N: A big thank you and a hug to all those of you who reviewed

A/N: This is my first fic so it's going to be a little messed up at first.And since this is my first, be easy with criticism, 'k?I already know that it's not perfect and could be better, and I'm not in the mood to hear anyone agree with me about that! I would like you to review when you are done though.I want you to even if it is just to tell me my mistakes. And before I forget, I gotta thank my beta readers, **James and Sirius**.

Disclaimer:All Harry Potter (Or James Potter in this story) and related characters are not mine.Only their thoughts and actions are mine. (Some of their thoughts and actions)Everything worth having belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.Only a few of the minor characters belong to me, and you don't really want them anyway.

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Chapter One–James

"James you are going to go to Hogwarts tomorrow! I can't believe how fast you are growing up. Before we know it, you are going to be graduating from Hogwarts," Julie Potter exclaimed wiping a tear from her eye with her left hand and holding her son James to her with her right. "Then hopefully get a decent job, get married…" her voice trailed off. 

"It doesn't seem all that fast to me!" James' muffled voice said, muffled because his mother was holding him so close. James tried to push her away, but for how small she was (he was just three centimeters shorter than her) she was amazingly strong.

"Julie, let go of the poor boy. He can't breathe!" Nick Potter, James' father, said sanding up and stepping towards the two but doing nothing else to help James out of the uncomfortable position. Julie held James tight for a moment longer and let him go.

James looked a great deal like his father. They both had the same black, untidy hair, and the same dark (almost black) eyes. Nick was very tall, while James was short compared to his father, but was still pretty tall for being only eleven, and James believed that he would grow to be as tall as his father, someday.

Julie Potter couldn't really be described by saying that she looked the same as James and Nick, but it would be lying to say that she looked nothing like them. She had dark blonde hair, which was neat and clean. She had light brown eyes, and she was a very small and delicate woman. From that description she sounds nothing like Nick and James, but there is something about her, that when you see her, she reminds you that she is related to them. Something in her eyes and face.

James rubbed his sore face and then muttered under his breath, "Gosh mum! At least I know _she__'__ll_ miss me."

His mother, besides her super strength, must have wonderful hearing because she replied briskly, "Course I'll miss you. And so will your father, I suppose . . . " Her voice trailed off and she sighed. "My how quiet it is going to be around the house during the day with only Seth and me! But then when your father gets home from work, it surely won't be quiet. It certainly will be easy cleaning the place up. And I won't fear being blown up while I'm sleeping. Or while awake for that matter. But I must say that I will miss the explosions. Not the damage from them, for sure, but I've become so accustom to them, that they seem natural." Julie smiled slightly, sniffing.

"Jeez, if you're going to miss them that much, Julie, I'm sure I can find a few dungbombs lying around and set them off in the attic," Nick said, trying to hold in his laughter. "Maybe I can talk Seth into setting something off. He might do it if I give him a book or two." This comment must have seemed more amusing to Nick, because he burst into laughter, and had to sit down on the couch unless he wanted to fall down. 

After Nick had finally regained his sanity (although just barely) Julie continued talking, although on a new subject.

"Now, James. Normally I would say, 'Don't get into any trouble,' but seeing as how I _know_ that is _impossible_, I'll just say try not to get in _too_ much trouble. Okay sweetie? And send us an owl, everyday, all right? I'm glade we got you that owl. You can never trust the school's owls."

James flinched at being called 'sweetie' but since no one was around to bug him about it, he chose to ignore it. This time. "Alright. Gotcha. Not _too_ much trouble. But some trouble is to be expected."

"…Yes… But of course no trouble _would_ be better."

"Oh, but mother dearest you already told me that you would be disappointed if I didn't at least ruffle McGonagall a wee bit," James said, pushing his glasses back up the ridge of his nose. James hated his glasses. He had just gotten them a few weeks ago, and he still didn't feel comfortable wearing them. It was nice, because he could see, but he felt like a geek. Simon, James' friend he went to school with until now, said that was to be expected. James had asked his mother why glasses were necessary. Couldn't they just do a spell on his eyes so he could see well? Julie refused. She had read in the Daily Prophet that the specialists in that area of magic often made mistakes leaving their unfortunate victims…uh I mean, customers blind. Sometimes they were only blind for a few weeks or days, but sometimes it lasted longer. Sometimes it lasted for life. This scared James into not pushing into the matter further, but sometimes he wished that he had.

"James! I never said that!" Julie exclaimed.

"It probably was me," Nick replied, still holding his side from laughing so hard.

"You probably did say it one time or another dad, but mum said it in her eyes, just now."

"I did not!" Julie said quite offended.

James' brown eyes twinkled. It was quite fun to provoke his mother. "Believe what you want, but I know the truth. You want to see her frustrated out of her wits, because she was head girl when you where a second year and she was mean to you. Dad's told me the story. You want to see that old bat get ruffled! You want me to show her a thing or two! You want me to make her pay! Admit it!"

Julie sighed. "Well, I guess that I can't hide anything from you. You may have been going a little over board, but I can't deny that I want you to ruffle her feathers a little. I still can't believe that she gave me detention for falling asleep in the library."

"Uh, feathers? Mum, why didn't you tell me she was a bird? That isn't safe. The public should know about this. The insanity of it all! Does Dumbledore know?" asked James, pretending to be shocked; he really looked like he would like to faint. "He should. She might…Well, peck someone's eyes out! Mum you poor dear. Being caught by a bird while you were waiting for some boy to come. Sorry he stood you up."

Julie blushed a deep red and muttered something that James believed to be, "Two boys," but it was hard to tell. It could just have easily been 'mayonnaise'. She then said, clearly, "James, I put up with your jokes and sarcasm, but some of the teachers might not find you funny. You are in for a lot of detention if you don't shape up your act young man."

"But I like my act fine just the way it is. It's a great act! People from all over the world gather just to watch my act. It's more popular with the muggles than the wizards who stick swords down their throats. The girls love it! It's…" However Nick and Julie never got to find out what else it was for at that moment Julie put a silencing charm on her son (the most painful one possible, making him bit his tongue). James let out a scream, that wasn't very loud seeing as how his mouth was sealed shut. 

"James! This is just what I'm talking about. You need to watch your mouth. No, not literally. James, I'm serous. I don't want you to ruffle McGonagall too much. I almost feel bad for the poor professors. Not quite though. Now they'll see what I have had to put up with for the past eleven years!" Julie sat down and put her head on her hands. Sometimes that boy was impossible.

"Julie, I'd like to talk to James man to man before he goes. Maybe I can talk some sense into him," Nike said, offering his wife a hand to help her up.

"Oh Nick. I know very well that you are just going to make sure he packed all the dungbombs and he is bringing the invisibility cloak your father left you. Oh well, I might as well let you come up with some ideas of how to torture the professors. At least you'll be thinking and planning instead of just running into the teachers lounge and…Nick you were so foolish…"Julie stood up, without Nick's hand, and started walking out of the room. "Although I'm sure you'll do something stupid anyway, even with the planning…"

After Julie had left, Nick took the silencing charm off of James, and the first thing James said was, "Well dad, what plans are we going to make? Yes, I have all dungbombs and the invisibility cloak."

"I just wanted to say, don't get into trouble and…"

"Dad, mum isn't listening. You can tell me whatever it was now."

"Okay, okay. When I was at Hogwarts, my friend Dolong Longbottom made the record for most detentions. It was 416. I was right behind him with 413. I would be honored if you would break that record. No telling your mother now."

James grinned and said, "What do you think I am? Thick? I'd have to be to tell mum a thing like that. I'd love to get at _least_ 417 detentions. I have to live up to the family name, after all, right?"

"Right! Okay, go and pack now. And remember, not a word to mum."

"Alright. My lips are sealed…or were a minute ago at least. So where is Seth anyway?"

Seth was James' little brother. He was four years younger than James, and the complete opposite, both in looks and in temperament. He had blonde hair and it was always kept neat and perfect. His blue eyes were watery and small. 

James sometimes wondered how he could have a brother that was so different from him. Seth was a perfect little angel. He would no sooner think of pulling a small prank then James would think about going to a muggle museum and looking at the artwork of the Renaissance. 

James was very glad that he would have four years, Seth free, before the little brat was sent off to Hogwarts as well, for he was sure that once Seth got there, it would ruin his reputation that he was planning on building. How would it be if he were catching McGonagall's hair on fire, and then along comes little, perfect Seth? Seth would surely put out the witch's (literally yes, but that wasn't what James was thinking about) hair? Everyone would make fun of him for having such a twit of a younger brother. All his friends (he didn't have any yet, but he would) would believe him silly.

James just hoped that perhaps Seth would turn out to be a Squib. That sounded like a really mean thing for Seth's own brother to think, and indeed it was, but James just couldn't help it. If only Seth had been a little more like James…or even if they had gotten along. But they didn't and there wasn't anything to be done about it. 


	2. Lily

A/N: A big thank you and a hug to all those of you who reviewed

A/N:I big thank you to everyone who reviewed, even though it wasn't very many.I'd better get more this time otherwise I won't post the next chapter… well, just kidding; I'd still post the next chapter so that's an empty threat.Thanks again to **James and Sirius.**

Disclaimer:Still everything worth having is not mine.Do we really have to do these things?I bet we don't, but just to be safe I'm going to keep doing them anyway.

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Chapter Two – Lily

"Lily Evans! Get your _butt_ down here right now! If you're not down here in ten seconds mum, dad, and I are leaving without you!"

"Don't be daft, Petunia! Mum and Dad wouldn't leave without me. They are making a special trip to London just to bring me to platform nine and three-quarters, so they wouldn't very well leave without _me. _Plus, we aren't planning on leaving until 10:20," Lily yelled down the stairs at her older sister, Petunia. 

Petunia could be such an idiot sometimes. She was just jealous that Lily was getting so much attention about being a witch. Which was funny. Petunia had called Lily a witch (or something along the lines of '_witch__'_) millions of times before and it had never bothered Petunia. But now that it was true, and everyone was calling her one, Petunia was having a fit. 

Lily heard Petunia groan at the bottom of the stairs and then stomp off. Lily smiled slightly to herself and then walked back into her room, checking to make sure she had everything packed. 

After checking she had everything in her trunk…four times…Lily looked at herself in the mirror, her bright green eyes were shinning because she was so happy.Lily was very excited. Because today was Wednesday, the day she was going to leave for Hogwarts today.She was trying to decide whether she should wear her robes or not. Deciding that she would look a little strange to the muggles if she were wearing her black school robes, she changed from her sweat pants and tank top that were her pajamas into Levies and a red shirt that had the Nike sign on it.

Lily had long dark red hair about down to her waist. It was very shiny and straight. She was a little short for her age, but not a lot. She figured that she would catch up to everyone else this year. Her eyes were a bright green. She was always told that her eyes were her prettiest feature, and was never sure whether or not that was to be considered a complement or not. She was a model student, always having the top grades in all of her classes. The only class that she wasn't in the top of was physical fitness. She wasn't very athletic. It wasn't that she hadn't tried hard; it's just that no matter how many books you read; it won't get you into better shape. 

Pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, Lily grabbed three of her favorite books off of the blue bookshelf and stuffed them into her already full trunk. Lily then picked up the heavy trunk (although she could only just lift it) and made her way to the top of the stairs. She then successfully toppled down the stairs, hitting her head on her trunk and the wall several times, as well and hitting her knee on the hard wood floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Hearing the noise her family (all of whom had been sitting in the kitchen munching on crackers) ran to the stairs. Her mum and dad were both on their knees, gathering up her things and making sure that she was all right, in seconds. It took Petunia a moment for the scene to sink into her thick skull, but when it did, she burst into hysterical laughter, nearly going into tears of delight. She earned a stern look from both Greg and Merion Evans. She tried to stop laughing, but ended up running into the other room, saying something that sounded like "klutz". 

After Lily was back on her feet and her parents were assured that she was fine, she walked into the kitchen and they followed her. She sat down on a stool next to the counter and set her head down on the cool surface. She asked a little shakily, "You all ready to go?"

"Well, yes we are, but it's only ten. Maybe we will all just sit and talk. Want a cracker?" Greg Evans asked, holding a cracker to his youngest daughter, sounding as if he were talking to a bird instead of Lily.

"Nah. I'm not real hungry. Okay. What shall we talk about?"

"Hogwarts," Merion Evans, a pretty lady with green eyes to match her daughter, said.

Petunia groaned and stomped out of the kitchen. But then walked back in and sat down, not facing them, still eating the crackers. Petunia didn't actually believe in any of this magic nonsense. She didn't see how it could be true. Back when she and Lily were friends (obviously along, _long_ time ago) they had pretended that they were witches and they would run around on broomsticks, waving their fingers or branches at each other, mumbling nonsense words under their breath. Petunia had only been five, but she still felt that she was foolish to have been playing such a thing. After all, how could there really be such a thing as magic? It just was impossible. 

She thought that her parent's must be insane to believe that Lily was really going to _Hogwarts_. There surely was no such place as that. Some gang clan had most likely sent that letter around to stupid families (yes, her family was stupid!) trying to kidnap their children. It would have taken some work to train the owls, but it could be done. And her parent's thought it was true! How could they be so blind! Everyone thought that Petunia was jealous, but she wasn't. It was just that she couldn't see how they could possibly believe any of this.

She thought that she wasn't jealous at first, but after she had thought it through for a minute she decided that maybe she was. _I__'__m _not_ jealous that everyone thinks she is a witch,_ thought Petunia, _I__'__m just jealous that she is getting all the attention. I should be used to it by now though._ Petunia sighed. Lily was always taking the attention away from Petunia. 

When Petunia was nine and Lily was seven, Petunia won second place in the story contest at school she had been praised like no other. But then, the next day, Lily announced that she had 'accidentally' finished the 300-page book that her teacher had given her to read that day. The teacher had expected the students whom she had given the book to (only the best readers in the class) to take all year and maybe still not be finished, and so when Lily said she was done with it, Miss Hayfields called Greg and Marion Evans in and told them. They of course forgot all about Petunia and only remembered _dear, sweet, innocent, smart _Lily. That was when Petunia really decided that she hated Lily. She had suspected before that she hated Lily, but had thought it was only a phase. But at that moment, she knew that it wasn't, and that she really did hate her. From that day she had done her best to always disagree with whatever Lily said, even if she agreed, and to take every chance she had to make fun of Lily.

_She thinks that she is just _oh_ so special since she is a witch and going to Hogwarts, but I know what she really is. A freak. She is nothing other than a freak. Someday my parents will see that and they will be sorry that they ignored me for so long. But I won__'__t forgive them. No, I will always remember that they thought Lily was the best. Sweet and beautiful Lily. She is so much prettier than I am. If I were as pretty as she is, then I would have all the boys, _Petunia thought, smirking. _But no, perfect little Lily can__'__t go on dates. She isn__'__t old enough. She doesn__'__t realize just how pretty she is._

Petunia was pretty too, in her own way. She had sleek blonde hair that was down to her shoulders. She was tall and thin, and had a very long neck. Petunia hated her neck. She hated Lily for having a nice, normal neck. Everything about Lily was wrong. Even if it were right, Petunia thought it was wrong. Lily was just all wrong! But no one else saw her that way. To everyone else, she was all right. 

"Okay, Hogwarts. What about it? Anything in particular?" asked Lily. Petunia was snapped from her own thoughts back to the conversation.

Marion looked at her husband and then shifted her gaze to the floor and then again to Greg. Finally she looked at Lily. Right in to Lily's eyes. "Lily. Sweetheart. I know that you are all excited about going to Hogwarts and all…but what if none of this is true? We don't really have any proof."

Petunia swerved around in her chair. Finally! Someone was seeing the light. They were finally seeing just how stupid they were being for even thinking that there really was such a thing as magic. 

"Marion and I have been talking, and we aren't so sure whether we really want you going to Hogwarts after all. I mean, it might just be some gang clan trying to take our little girl away from us," Greg said sadly.

_That__'__s what I__'__ve been saying for the past few months. But no one listens to Petunia. And when they figure I am right, I don__'__t get the credit._

"Mum, Dad! How can you be serious? You were there in Diagon Alley with me! You saw all of the magic stuff! I can't believe that we are even having this argument! Or discussion, or whatever this is! You saw all the old witches fighting over that last dragon liver, same as I did! Dragon liver! Don't you see? There is such a thing as dragons! And you never knew that before you went to Diagon Alley. Think of all things I could learn if I were to go Hogwarts. Don't you want me to learn all kinds of new things? Don't you want me to me smart? Don't you love me?" Lily wiped away a fake tear. She was just playing the guilt trip. She knew that if she tried hard enough, she could get her parents to do anything.

"No honey that's not it! We love you!" Marion exclaimed.

"Lily, sweetie, it's not that we don't want you to be smart, it's just that we love you too much to lose you. Honest," Greg said swishing his fingers over his heart.

"So you'll let me go?"

"Well, I don't know about that…"

"Oh thank you! Thank you! You are the best parents in the whole world!" Lily yelled, throwing herself at them in a big hug. After that what could they say other than yes? Greg and Marion looked at each other and sighed. Greg patted Lily's back and Marion stroked her hair.


	3. Scarlet Steam-Engine

Author's Note: Of course, all characters belong to the wonderful J

A/N: Thanx to all of you who have reviewed.And Thanx to my beta readers.Everyone go and read their fic.Their name is **James and Sirius **and its name is _First year Nonsense._

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To all that reviewed:You finally get to see your name in….. I don't know but you get to see 'em!Oh, and I barely decided on doing this, (cuz a lot of people do, and it seems nice) so I'm just going to do the first two chapter's reviews together:

**Lily Potter: **I will.

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**Lovely Lily:**So do I!

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**Moony's Chick:**I'm glad that you like it.

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**Fawks:**Thanks, don't worry I will.

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Aurora:Glad you like.

**Resisting Arrest:**Thanks.

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**Jessica:**Thanks.

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**James and Sirius:**Thanks for being the very supportive beta readers that you are: although I doubt that Me… James has written any one of these reviews.You notice that _I_ mentioned you without having to be told.Unlike you two… Naughty!Keep reviewing, it makes me feel better.

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***Chocolate Frogs*:**I'm glad that you like it.I like that part too, for the same reason. I like L/J fics too, but I warn you, this isn't going to have any romance in it, cuz I suck at it, and it would ruin my fic!

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**Sakura:**Thanx.

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**Mon:**I will.

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**shampoo ul copt:**Glad you like.I'm going to keep on going.

A/N:Do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with new things to say?Well, really hard!I kept repeting my self!

Disclaimer:Nothing is mine. Get the point?Well, something is mine, just not much.

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Chapter three–Scarlet Steam-Engine

The drive to Kings Cross really wasn't a fun one for either James or Lily. For James it was uncomfortable because he was riding in a muggle Taxi, something he had never done before. Heck, something he had never thought of doing before. He didn't see how muggles could get around in those things on an everyday basis. How uncomfortable!

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For Lily it was not fun because of Petunia. Petunia had insisted on coming, but Lily didn't know why. Petunia didn't like car rides, she didn't like train stations, and she didn't believe in magic. All good reasons not to come, but still Petunia came. Lily suspected that Petunia just wanted to prove to Lily once and for all that there was no such place as Hogwarts. That platform nine and three-quarters was fictional. Also, her parents were still a little reluctant to let Lily go, making it all in all, not a fun ride.

As the Evans family's car pulled into a parking spot in the parking lot, the back right door shot open as soon as the car was stopped. Lily jumped out of the car, and slammed the door behind her. She then ran to the back of the vehicle and waited impatiently for her father to pop the trunk. After he had done so, Lily flung it open and managed to lift her trunk, but then she dropped it on the ground only millimeters from her toes, causing a loud thump and many of the people around her to look at her strangely. 

"Dad. Mum! I can't lift my trunk! Will someone help me? Please?"

"Sure thing, honey," Greg said, picking up her trunk.

"Wow-we! I'm glad I came; it was well worth the ride! Look at all the cute boys!" Petunia said pointing.

Lily (who only saw two or three cute boys so far) followed Petunia's gaze and finger and saw who she must be looking at. A boy with messy black hair and glasses was getting out of a taxi. He didn't look much older than Lily, but he looked taller than her. He was dressed a little funny for a boy his age though. He was wearing dark green pants and a bright purple shirt, which was tight against his skin; you could see that he clearly had muscles. Two people, whom were obviously his parents, (the resemblance was remarkable between father and son) got out of the taxi after him. They too were dressed strange. The mother was wearing some men's dress pants with a yellow string around the waist to hold them up and a shirt, which looked as if it had belonged to a chef before she owned it. It had stains all over it. And then, she was wearing high heels. The father was wearing some Levis (which were too small) and a huge gray sweatshirt and a plaid tie (the sweatshirt didn't have a collar).

The small group made their way to the back of the taxi and waited for the driver to open the trunk. As the driver (Bill, it said on his name tag) came around to the back of the car, the young boy suddenly remembered something he had left in the car and ran to get it. (Knocking in to Bill in the process.)

All the time Petunia and Lily had been walking towards them, followed by Greg and Marion. "Ooh he's so cute!" Petunia moped. "I wish I knew him!"

The boy came out of the taxi again, this time holding a golden birdcage. In it was a bright yellow owl. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, and he had a piece of wood poking out of his pocket, which, if Lily was right, (which was usually the case) was a wand. 

The mother looked up at the sound of the boy slamming the door and screeched. "Ah! JAMES POTTER! What in the world did you do to the poor thing?"

James, who had been stifling a giggle behind his hand, looked his mother in the face and the looked at his father who was also grinning. "Dad thinks it's amusing."

"Julie, love, its no big deal. Really. The boy was just having a little fun, I say let him."

"Yeah mum, this is nothing compared to what I'm going to do, so you might as well get used to it. I thought you would be by now."

Petunia's mouth hung open. "How did he do that?"

"Petunia, I hate to ruin this for you, but I think he's a wizard-to-be."

"Don't be silly, what's in the world makes you think that?"

"Mum," James protested, "I don't see why we had to come in that taxi-cab. It's so…so…so muggle! Why couldn't we have flown? Or taken the knight bus? I don't want to experience that again. So, do we go straight to platform nine and three-quarters, or can we get a pretzel first?" asked James pointing to a stand that was selling pretzels and candy.

"That's what makes me think that maybe, just maybe, he's a wizard-to-be." Lily said, smirking. Petunia gulped.

"I'll buy you a pretzel…or two," Nick said smiling.

"Nick! You don't want to spoil his appetite! You know about the feast once they get to Hogwarts!"

"Mum, I'll ruin it anyway on the train ride there, and no matter how much I eat now, I'm sure I'll be able to eat _something_ at Hogwarts," James said rubbing his stomach and grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Julie hit James lightly on the head and muttered, "Well, that's for sure."

"So, can I go yet?" asked James, heaving his huge trunk (mostly full of pranks) into his arms.

Julie looked at her son sadly, trying to think of a reason not to let him go. He had already made them agree that he would go through the barrier alone. He had done it lots of times before. Julie sighed, "In a minute. You're going to be gone for a year and I'm going to miss you so much. Don't tell anyone, but Seth is just _so_ boring!"

James' eyes widened. "Mum! I'm surprised at you! Saying that your own flesh and blood is _boring!_ Never mind that it's true, you still shouldn't have told me that! Practically saying that a certain black haired boy is your favorite, you were."

"Well, a certain black haired boy _is_ my favorite. I'm sorry to say that, because he is such a proud little twit, but it's true," Julie said smiling. Before James could do anything she grabbed at him and pulled him into a big hug, and then kissed him in the middle of his forehead.

"Mum!" James exclaimed pushing her away and wiping off his forehead. "Don't do that!" James lowered his voice to a whisper, "Not in front of all these people, many of whom are cute girls!"

"Don't be silly James, they'll just think you're sweet."

"I don't want to be sweet! I want to be bad! That's why I'm going to this school for goodness sake!"

"James! You promised me that you wouldn't get into too much trouble, I'm surprised that you would break a promise."

"I'm not really breaking it mum, I'm just, _extending _it's meaning."

Julie looked like she was going to lunge at James and rip his head off, (forgotten was the fact that he was her favorite and that if she killed him, she would be stuck with the boring child) so it was probably a good thing that at that moment Nick came back from getting the pretzels and stepped in-between Julie and her son.

By this time, Petunia had stopped listening to their conversation; not wanting to think a maniac was cute. But Lily still watched and listened laughing to herself when Julie kissed James.

As James stuffed half of his second pretzel into his mouth, his eyes met Lily's. "What you looking at?" He asked, after swallowing his mouth full of food.

"What does it look like I'm looking at? You, stupid," Lily said. She realized that she sounded quiet rude, and was sorry because she had wanted to befriend this boy.

"Well I can see that, but what _about_ me? I'm no different from most of the other boys around here; go stare at them," James said to Lily. 

James thought that she was really pretty and wished that he wouldn't have been rude to her. A boy can never have too many girl friends.

"It's just that…" Lily suddenly got embarrassed, "Well, I'm muggle-born. And I don't know how to get into platform nine and three-quarters and I thought that you were a wizarding family, and you could help me."

"Oh. It's that obvious is it? I knew dad shouldn't have worn that tie. Yeah I guess we could..." James trailed off. He decided he'd try to be nice. "Hungry?" he asked holding out the rest of his half eaten pretzel. He didn't really think she'd take it (_girls are like that_, he thought) and so he wouldn't lose a pretzel, but maybe she would like him more from this nice gesture.

Lily could tell he was only doing it to be nice, and he still wanted the pretzel. She knew that the nice thing to do would say no thank you, and then be friends with him. But she didn't really want to do that. She _was_ hungry. "Oh. Thanks," she said and grabbed his pretzel, shoving into her mouth in the same fashion that he had done. James stood there staring at her as she stuffed _his_ pretzel into her mouth, chewed _his_ pretzel up, and swallowed _his_ pretzel.

All this time, Julie and Nick had been talking but now stopped. Turning around and seeing their son glaring at a pretty girl they smiled at each other. "James, why don't you introduce us to your friend?" asked Julie.

"Why don't I? Two reasons. One, she's not my friend. Two, I have no idea who she is, other than she is a muggle-born and going to Hogwarts."

"Now James, don't be rude. Just because you don't know her, doesn't mean you aren't friends," Nick said patting his son on the back.

"No dad, you misunderstand. She's not my friend because I don't want her to be, not because I don't know her. I know who will be my friend before I even know him. See that boy putting that dungbomb right next to the hotdog stand? He is going to be my friend. I can tell."

Both Julie and Nick gaped at James. Why wouldn't he want to be friends with this pretty little girl?

Lily, seeing the look on their faces said, "Oh don't worry. I don't feel bad. If I want him to be my friend, I could make him. Believe me! But, no offence or anything to you, I don't really want to be friends with your son, either." And she walked away, even though she had no idea how to get to platform nine and three-quarters. She would find out from someone else.

James, on the other hand, hadn't even heard what she said. He had already made his way to the boy who set off the dungbomb. 

"Hey," James said. "I saw your handy work with that dungbomb, and I must say, that I am really impressed. As soon as I saw you, I said to myself, that boy and me are going to cause a whole lot of trouble together. So, what do you say, want to break the record for most detention with me?"

"Sure. That'd be great. But, what is the record?"

"416. One of my dad's friends made it. The teachers are going to remember the seven years they taught James and…"

"Sirius. The years they taught James and Sirius. Hey James, how could you tell I was a first year?"

"Uh, I have no idea. Lucky guess, I guess."

"Bet I can set McGonagall's hair on fire before you can," Sirius said, smiling.

"You're on man! But, before we start, we'd better put our trunks in a compartment. And no starting until after then," James said, already running back to where his trunk was sitting. He picked it and Cheesy-Wink (his now yellow owl-who's color now matched her name) up and then looked for Sirius. 

Sirius was talking to a tall witch who looked a lot like him. She was probably his mother. They had the same black hair and mischievous smile. And a mischievous smile was a weird thing to see on a woman of her age. Not that she was old. She looked younger than James' own parents, but it still a strange sight.James walked over to them and smiled at Sirius. 

"Mum, this is my new friend, James."

"Hello," said James, outstretching his hand.

Sirius' mum took his hand and smiled. "Hello James. Sirius told me that you are going to break the record for most detentions and all I have to say is, good luck." Sirius picked up his trunk and the two boys walked towards the railing between platforms nine and ten. 

Little did they know a girl with auburn hair and bright green eyes was watching them. And had they know they wouldn't have cared.

Searching the whole train, they only found one empty compartment. That might have been because there was only one empty one, but it also could have been because they stopped looking after they found an empty compartment. 

Leaving their trunks (and Cheesy-Wink) in the middle of the small compartment, they ran out in search of McGonagall.

After Lily had seen James and Sirius go through the barrier, she found her parents and said goodbye. She got away as fast as possible, before they could change their minds and force her to stay. Lily looked at the barrier between platforms nine and ten uncertainly. 

Would she really go through it? Don't be silly, she thought to herself; of course I'll go through! Right? Right. Lily bravely (at least she thought she was being brave, but people who had done it before would think she was being a wimp) walked up to the barrier, and then continued to walk, closing her eyes. She waited to feel herself hit into the steel barrier. When she didn't hit into it, she opened her eyes and stopped walking. She looked at her surroundings. 

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform entirely different from the one that she had left. 

It was packed with wizards and witches in an assortment of different colored robes (from bright pink to tie-die, although only one person was wearing tie-die, and she was really weird) and in a few different styles.

There were students saying good-bye to their parents, and students saying hello to other students. There were owls all over the place and some children were flying around on broomsticks, practicing for their Quidditch team.

Lily had gotten all the books she could about magic as soon as she got the letter from Hogwarts. She had already practically memorized, _Hogwarts, a History_ and had read all of her spell books through twice. She wanted to be sure that she wouldn't be behind everyone else. Since most of the students were brought up in wizarding families, she figured she was a ton behind everyone. 

Lily looked around at everyone, blinking. Diagon Alley had already proven to her that wizards were real, but if her mind had wavered, (which it had) seeing all the pointy hats again proved her to be correct.

Lily could hardly believe that she was going to be on her way to Hogwarts in less than ten minutes. She was so happy. She would be away from Petunia for months! She wouldn't see her until Christmas, and then only for a little while, and only in a small dose. 

That also meant that she would she her mom and dad for the same amount of time, but she could live without seeing them. They were way too protective of her anyway.

And so, without another thought of her parents or Petunia (although one thought of James, the prat) she dragged her trunk onto the train and started looking around for an empty compartment. 

When she had searched the whole train and not found one empty compartment, she went around again, looking for the emptiest compartment. She found one that didn't have any occupants, but the trick was there were two trunks in the middle of the floor, and a golden birdcage holding a yellow owl (which she recognized as James'_)._

__

_This is James__'__ compartment, and that other kid__'__s_, she thought. _And just my luck, it__'__s the only one that has room for another person. Great._

Lily, feeling extremely sorry for her self, pulled her trunk into the compartment, and seeing as how the other two hadn't put their trunks in a very convenient place, (she has just tripped over Sirius' trunk, muttering unfriendly words) she lodged hers in front of the door. She hoped that when they opened the sliding doors, they would be stupid (_or more stupid than they already are_) and not see the trunk, and trip over it.

Lily looked at the watch on her left wrist and was surprised to see that it had only taken her three minutes to look through the whole train for an empty compartment, which she hadn't found.

_Seven minutes until we depart for Hogwarts. Those two gits should be getting back soon. Joy. That__'__s just what I need. To spend hours confined in an undersized compartment with two of the most maddening human beings in London. This should certainly be a fun trip._

_ _

__And with that thought she opened her trunk and pulled out her copy of _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk. She had already read it twice, but you can never be too well prepared for school. She opened it to the first page and began reading. Lily sat down in the seat next to the window and set her feet up on the seat next to her. 

She had just finished the first chapter when she heard the door slide open, a thud, and then a curse. Without bothering to look up she said softly, but loud enough for them to hear, "Have a nice trip?"

"Ha-ha. That was very funny. That is the oldest line in the book," said the voice from the floor, an unfamiliar one. She supposed it was the friend of James. She looked up. James was standing in the doorway, his brown eyes dancing, laughing wildly, his hand covering his mouth. 

"Sirius..." (Uncontrollable laughter) "Just admit it." (Ongoing laughter) "She got ya good." James managed to squeak out between his hysterical laughter.

"I'll do no such thing. I wont let…" At that moment Sirius looked up and saw Lily for the first time. A gasp escaped his lips. "She's hot…" he murmured.

Lily tried not to smile, but her emerald green eyes sparkled with pleasure. She sometimes had that affect on boys.

"Sirius! You traitor! This is that annoying girl I told you about!" James exasperated.

"I wouldn't care if she were the Queen of Sheba, she's still hot," Sirius said grinning stupidly.

"Honestly! She's an eleven year old girl, how can she be hot?"

"Good thing she's an eleven year old girl. I'd sure be in for a surprise if I were to find out I'd been hitting on an eleven-year-old boy, huh? I'd never get over the shame of it. I don't know how she does it, but she does it quiet nicely, don't you thing so?"

"Sirius, snap out of it, she's a witch."

"Yeah, but so is every other girl at Hogwarts," complained Sirius.

"Not that kind of witch Sirius. I suggest you get over her. Fast." James could hardly believe his new friend.

A few minutes ago, when he had told Sirius about her, Sirius had been ready to turn her hair green, (to match her eyes) and now he was falling all over her, her and her trunk.

Sirius got up from the floor and practically jumped over to where Lily was sitting. "So, what do ya say, sweet thing, you and me get to know each other better?" James rolled his eyes. Sirius obviously hadn't had much experience with girls, even if he thought that he had.

Lily slapped him across the face when he put his hand on her knee. "Oh grow up!" she said wrathfully pushing him away from her.

Sirius grinned, thinking of a perfect comeback. "I am, babe, but I can only grow up one day at a time, just as fast as you."

Lily glared at him and rolled her eyes. (Although obviously not at the same time.) Boys were so stupid. "Oh shut up, and don't call me _babe _or_ sweet thing._ I can see this is going to be a very long trip."

"Yeah, but you already knew that. And having us here isn't going to make the trip any longer," James argued.

"Well, that is unless we decide to blow up one of the wheels. That might cause the trip to stretch some," Sirius pointed out, grinning impishly. 

"Yeah, and that'll make up for not finding McGonagall," James said equally impish.

"Oh, you wouldn't, would you boys?" Lily asked glumly. They couldn't ruin her day. This was supposed to be the best day of her life, the day that she finally got away from Petunia.

"Course not. We'd rather set fire to the two compartment filled with prefects. Ooh how I'd love to see them scream," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh! Or wouldn't it be great to turn the tracks so they brought us to Huneydukes instead?" James exclaimed rubbing his stomach. 

"You just ate James! Plus, I'm not letting you leave this compartment and ruin the whole day for me!"

"How do you plan to stop us?" asked James.

"I'll set fire to _your_ hair!" Lily said, not able to think of anything original.

"And then we'll just conjure up a bucket of water," Sirius said. This made Lily stop and think. She didn't know that neither of the two boys knew how to conjure up a bucket of water, but it made her feel far behind to think that they could.

"I know what I'll do, I'll lock to door," Lily said proudly.

"Then we'll unlock it. Plus it doesn't have a lock on it."

"She was talking about magically, stupid," James said hitting his friend on the back of the head.

"Oh. She doesn't know how. After all, she's a muggle born."

"Doesn't mean I don't know how to do anything," Lily said defensively, although she really had no idea how to magically lock the door.

"That's what you think," James mischievously said.

That made Lily angry. Even though they were probably right, she didn't want them thinking that she didn't know anything about magic. She did know a few spells. Not many, but a few. It was hard to learn how to do them right without someone telling you whether you were doing something wrong or not.

"You're right, I am muggle born, and I don't know very many spells. But still, please don't go off and cause trouble. I just want to do good in school, and I don't want you to mess that up for me!"

"If we went and did something bad, how would that ruin your reputation any?"

"I don't know how, but it would!"

"Okay, okay. We'll just stay in here and plan what surprise we'll do for the sorting ceremony," James sighed grinning slightly.

"No! You can't do anything horrible at the sorting ceremony either. You can't ever do anything bad!"

"Who in the heck do you think you're talking to? This is James and I here. Of course we're going to do things we aren't supposed to. Ya think we've gone nutty or something?"

"Well, I suppose no more 'nutty' then you already were, but can't you just wait and mess up my life tomorrow?"

"Lily," sighed James, frustrated. "We aren't going to mess up your life by pulling a few pranks. Why are you making such a big deal about this? Just because we break rules and go to detention, doesn't mean that you did anything wrong."

"Well, if I'm in here, then I'll hear you planning and I would be breaking the rules not to report to the teachers anything that you might do…"

"Jeez Lily, get a grip. You haven't even met any of the teachers yet, and you're already devoted to them. Wonder how much of a teacher's pet you'll be once you actually have a class from 'em!" Sirius marveled. 

"Fine, if you care that much, we'll whisper so you can't hear us? Okay?" James asked, irritation still showing in his eyes.

"Okay," Lily said under her breath. She was a little disappointed. She had really wanted to hear what they were going to do. She would even have helped them, had they asked, just so long as they didn't tell anyone that she helped them. It would be fun. But Lily Evans never has fun by breaking the rules. There were other ways of having fun. But right now, all Lily really wanted to do was break the rules.


	4. Remus Lupin

A/N: A big thank you and a hug to all those of you who reviewed

A/N: A big thank you and a hug to all those of you who reviewed!And thank you, **James and Sirius** for beta reading!Sorry that it's taken me so long to upload, I went on vacation to California.Yes, I did have fun as a matter of fact, thanx for asking!

Disclaimer:Nothing is mine, I'm sorry to say… again and again and again.At this rate, I'll soon have no self-esteem left!Anywho, as we all already know, everything great and wonderful belongs to J.K. Rowling!

REVIEWERS! Thank ya, thank ya, and thank ya!Thanks to- everyone!

Dang, I'm running out of time.It's late and my mom is making me get off.I'm only 13 for heck's sake!Anyway, I was going to thank everyone who reviewed, but sorry, I have to go.I will next time.Promise.

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Chapter Four–Remus Lupin

As the train began to move, James and Sirius could be found huddled in the corner of the compartment nearest the window, whispering to one another. 

They thought that Lily couldn't hear what they were saying, but they didn't know that they were whispering talking really much to loud to be called whispering. Lily heard every word. Yet she was rather disappointed. They weren't talking about anything exciting.

All they had decided on doing so far at the feast was to dye their hair bright colors. James was going to do neon green, and Sirius was heading for either flaming red or sky blue. He just couldn't make up his mind. Dying their hair was nothing special. 

James and Sirius were beginning to really get excited, but they each thought, without telling the other, that it would be so much easier to come up with the ultimate plan of destruction, (although not destruction literally) if only Lily would help them. They assumed that she must be smart, if she were a teacher's pet, and if she would only help them, they figured that it would be simple to pull anything off.Maybe she could help them get a start on a good idea, because they couldn't think of anything good yet. 

If she would only come up with an idea, then they could finish the idea and pull it off. She wouldn't really have to do anything, except think for one second, since they weren't very good at that.

Lily, pretending to be reading her book, heard as they discussed what the other thought of her. Sirius of course kept going on and on about how hot she was, but James didn't really ever comment on her appearance, which daunted her a little.

She wanted James to at least agree with Sirius that she was pretty, even if he didn't keep going on about her looks. 

She didn't know why she felt this way, but just supposed that she had a little crush on him. Nothing serious. She had crushes on lots of boys. Just one more boy to add to the long list (she in fact really did keep a list in her diary) was nothing to worry about. 

James, instead of agreeing with Sirius as she had hoped, just said that she was annoying when she wanted to be, and nice at other times. This made her feel a little better about herself. She liked to think that she could have any guy that she wanted. 

James seemed to keep trying to go back to the original subject of pranks, but then Sirius would mutter "So hot!" and James would sigh and crack up laughing.

James finally managed to banish Lily from Sirius' mind, and the conversation went back to the feast. This Lily was glad of. For some reason whenever Sirius said she was hot (somewhere in the vicinity of thirty times, but at twenty, Lily stopped counting) and James would say nothing and do nothing but sigh, which made her feel giddy and uncomfortable.

Lost in her own thoughts, Lily suddenly noticed a change in the compartment. For a while she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Then she realized that she could no longer hear James and Sirius talking. They had lowered their voices in what could now honestly be called a whisper. 

Aggravated, Lily strained her ears to hear their conversation, but was unsuccessful. They obviously had become conscious of how loudly they had been speaking and dropped their voices to a mere trickle of sound.

Lily continued to be unable to hear a word of what they were saying. Well, that was not entirely true. She did manage to hear one word. But that was only because it was practically yelled. The word told her nothing of what they were talking about since it was, 'what'. 

Lily smiled when Sirius stood up and nearly yelled "What?" fairly loud. Her smile broadened when James looked at Lily quickly and then grabbed the front of Sirius' robes (which he and James had changed into on their excursion to find McGonagall) and pulled him back into the seat next to him.

Lily tried to read _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), _but the words kept becoming hazy and unreadable. She must have read the same sentence almost twenty times, but she never really understood what was happening. She finally realized that the book was boring, and that she was becoming insane with the silence in the compartment. These were two eleven-year-old boys; they weren't supposed to be able to be this quiet! 

Lily in time gave up on her book and slammed it shut creating a loud bang, causing Cheesy-Wink to cringe. 

But James and Sirius didn't even notice, didn't even look up. Now Lily was far past her normal line of sanity. In fact, she had tripped over that line nearly ten minutes ago. She had slammed her spell book because she was irritated, yes, but she had also done it to get their attention. Lily was just about to scream at them to look at her, when the sliding doors began to open.

All four occupants of the compartment looked up at the door. This caused Lily to get even more fuming (which hadn't seemed possible, but was) since James and Sirius had noticed the faint noise of the door sliding open, but not her slamming her book closed.

Lily's anger was for the moment pushed to the middle of her mind when she saw the boy standing in the doorway. He had been observant enough to realize that there was a trunk settled in the way of him entering the room. He looked at the trunk a little strangely, and then shrugged, and stepped over it, carrying his trunk, which was rather small if it was supposed to be filled with supplies for all year.

Lily blushed scarlet when he looked back at the trunk and shrugged again. "It's not what it looks like," she said softly.

"You mean, that isn't a trunk?" asked the new boy smiling wearily.

"Well… Yes… It is a trunk…Of course… You see… That's not… Urg!" Lily's frustration was now resurfacing to the front of her mind.

"Of course it's not Urg, silly! Urg lives miles from here." The boy said, still smiling. Seeing the dangerous look in her eyes he quickly added, "But no, really. I do know an Urg. He lived down the street from me. He was twenty and just got married. It's funny when you go over to his house, it's Urg this and Urg that. If you didn't know that was his name, you'd think they were a very angry and frustrated family with a small vocabulary when they are under stress."

Lily smiled. "That's not what I meant. It's just that I was already aggravated, and you were… are making me angry!"

"How so?"

"Well, by understanding what I mean, and pretending not too. Like pretending to be stupid, when you're not!"

"You're saying I'm not stupid and you just met me, when my brother, who has known me for eleven years, says every day that I am?"

"See, that was proof that you are smart. If you had been stupid, like those two over there," Lily pointed over at Sirius and James who smiled readily at her, "you would just have agreed and then acted stuck-up about it. I think you're different."

"Oh, he's nothing special," sniffed Sirius, who wanted the attention Lily was giving this new kid for himself.

James then went into a coughing fit and muttered something that sounded an awful lot along the lines of, "Stupid, jealous git."

Sirius glared at James and then slugged him on the shoulder. James held his shoulder, and patted it, and pretended to cry. At least Lily hoped that he was pretending. He looked like he was pretending. James was rapidly healed of his pain, and punched Sirius lightly back.

Sirius and James were soon, fighting and laughing and didn't even notice that Lily and the new kid were deep in conversation.If they had noticed, Sirius would probably have flipped out, and James wouldn't have cared, or acted like he hadn't even noticed her. At least not _acted_ like he cared. Perhaps he had noticed after all.

When James and Sirius had settled down, they began talking again. First they talked about girls back at home, but Sirius did most of the talking in that category. Seems that he had a lot of girlfriends back in his hometown, and he figured that he'd be getting letters from them often, but James doubted it. The subject then switched to their parents, and then to school, to Hogwarts.

"So, d'ya think that new kid is into pranks and stuff?" Sirius whispered to James.

"Dunno. Why don't you ask him?" James asked, not bothering to whisper.

"I can't do that! I don't even know his name. Plus he likes Lily!"

"I'm sure a lot of people will and do like Lily. It's nothing to be judgmental about. Just ask his name, and then if he's into that sort of thing." James saw his friend's worry, but was unfeelingly unconcerned.

"James! Help me out here!"

"Why? He's not scary. It's not like he's a werewolf or something. Just ask him what his name is. Strike up a conversation with him, then change the subject to pranks, and ask if he's into that sort of thing. It's not that hard."

"If it's not that hard, then you do it!"

"No! I'm not the one who cares"

"Chicken," Sirius mocked, hoping to push his friend into it.

"Me, chicken? I don't care what you say about it. Say what you want. I'm not the one who's afraid to ask him!" James said smirking at his friend's attempt to trick him into it.

"Ask me what? You were talking about me, right?" asked the light brown haired boy who was now standing up and walking towards the two other boys. 

For the first time, James noticed how old his robes looked. They had patches on them and were a little big. They must be ancient. 

"Yeah, we _were_ talking about you… but it's not really important," Sirius said, looking at his feet.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

"Well no, it's just that I don't know you," Sirius muttered.

James shook his head in disbelief at his friend. Holding out his hand and smiling he said, "Hello. I'm James Potter. Pleasure to meet you. Pardon my friend. He's a bit nutty, if you know what I mean."

"I understand. I'm Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you as well," said Remus laughing faintly. 

Sirius continued to look at his shoes for a moment, and then looked up into Remus' golden eyes.

"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius said extending his quivering hand to Remus. Remus grasped his hand and shook it whole heartily. 

"Nice to meet you Sirius. Now what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"I feel kind of stupid…"

"That's only natural," Lily said loudly.

"…Asking you this when I don't really know you that well, but, are you much of a prankster?"

"That's what you had to ask him? I thought it was going to be something juicy, not some lame old thing like that!" Lily sighed. 

Sirius glared daggers at Lily. She simply smiled sweetly, and fluttered her eyelashes at Sirius, causing his knees to go weak and his stomach to twist.

"I'm not really that much into pranks, but only because my mum banned dungbombs from the house. I used to be really into that sort of stuff a few years ago, but lately… Let's just say that I've had other things to take up my time with."

"Like what?" snorted James. James whole heartily believed that torturing your parents and other adults was something to live for. "Read?" He glanced at Lily and snorted again.

"Yes read, among other things," said Remus rather stiffly.

"Okay, whatever. But now that you are going to Hogwarts, don't you think that you ought to mess around a little. You know, cause a little trouble. Give Dumbledore a few more gray hairs?" Sirius asked.

"Why would I want to do that? Dumbledore has always been nice to me. Besides, all of Dumbledore's hairs are gray. Well, white really."

"Jeez Remus. Do you always have to be so serous and sensible?" asked James.

"Oh my gosh! Sirius! Your name and sensible were used in the same sentence. Relish the moment. It'll never happen again!" Gasped Lily.

"You're telling me," mumbled Sirius.

"Don't be glum Sirius. It'll happen again. All the teachers will be sure to say over and over again, 'That Sirius, he's just not sensible,'" James said patting his friend on the back.

"Oh, how comforting!" Sirius said smiling.

"But really Remus. You want to help us plan for the ultimate disaster. Well, we might not be able to manage the ultimate disaster in our first year. We'll save that title for next year."

"I'd be glad to help."

"You would?" the three other (human) residents of the room said surprised.

"Course I would!" Remus exclaimed.

"You just don't seem like that kind of person to me," explained Sirius.

"Then why did you ask in the first place?" asked the confused Remus.

"Heck if I know." Sirius smiled. 

"Well now that we have three people…" James began.

"Four," interrupted Lily.

"Okay, four including Cheesy-Wink…"

"I was talking about me, stupid!" Lily exasperated.

"I thought that you might be, but I figured that you were only kidding."

"You never asked me whether I wanted to help or not," Lily said, infuriated.

"And there's a perfectly good reason for that muffin," Sirius said patting her head.

"Stop calling me stupid nick names! What is the perfectly good reason that you didn't ask me?"

"Well," James began, looking at Sirius, "we didn't really think that you'd want to. I mean you were practically about to bite our heads off, or worse, for joking about setting the prefects on fire."

"James, I can't believe you. That was the perfect chance to say something rude, and you just passed it by!"

"Sorry, Sirius. Go ahead and say something. Pretend that she just asked the question again."

"James, are you feeling alright. You want me to pretend that she just asked me to marry her? Again? When did she ask me before? And why, for heaven's sake, did I refuse?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Not that question you git!" James and Lily both yelled.

"Oh! You meant the other question! Silly me." By this time, everyone but Lily was laughing.

Once everyone had settled down (except Lily, who was still glaring daggers at Sirius) Sirius picked up on the old conversation as if nothing had happened.

"We didn't ask you, tootsie, because we love you… yeah right, just kidding…. I have a better one! We didn't because you are mentally unstable and you might ruin the whole thing for us. Oh, better you really are going to die tomorrow, you have cancer, and we don't want you to get in any trouble before you die."

"Sirius, I'm ashamed. Those were all terrible," said James looking truly astonished.

"Well wise one, I didn't hear you come up with anything better," smirked Sirius. Lily realized that a smirk did nothing for Sirius' features.

"That is because I didn't try. And I didn't try because I knew that if I did, it would have turned out lame, and then you would be making fun of me right now, instead of me making fun of you," James replied.

"So, will you two stop arguing and help us come up with a plan. And just let Lily help. She's smart, and four… Five heads are better than four."

"So Remus, do you have an idea?"

"As a matter of fact, I do… not, but I'll help you think of something."

"Oh, great."


	5. Sorting

A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed, and seeing as how I promised, I guess I'd better thank you all

A/N:Thanks to all who have reviewed, and seeing as how I promised, I guess I'd better thank you all!

**Chocolate Frogs:**I'm glad to see that you like the third and fourth chapter well enough, and hope you like the fifth chapter too.It's much longer.You like a lot of the same things that I do.Yes, I really am only 13.Well, that's what my parents claim, but then again, you never know.**James and Sirius:**I knew I was right that James never helps out, except that once.Sorry I didn't tell ya I got back.How did she ever manage to convince you that her name should go first?Just so you know, at the moment, I have two more reviews than you do, and once this chapter is uploaded, I'll get more.Don't worry; I'm sure you'll catch up.**Destiny Phoenix: **Meza glad you like.**Young Black:**Glad that you love it, love it.You really think I did a good job?I hope so.**O.o Cassia o.O:**Sorry about me writing so slow.I had this chapter all written out (and the next 3 chapters) it's just that I've been on vacation lately, and my fam just has to chose places with no computers!Ah!**Jinskid3:**Okay.**phoenix vs crazy snow:**Yeah I'm writing, I'm writing.**New York Times:**Wow!You like writing long reviews huh?That's good though, I _love _long reviews.And once again, I am only 13.Don't worry, I'm not about to make Peter a bad guy.I'm glad you like it so much (even if it's not the best) and I really enjoyed reading your review, and hope that you review again!

Disclaimer:I own nothing that may seem familiar to you.And in this chapter, I don't own a lot of things.I practically copied the Hat's song/poem from out of the first book, with a few minor changes.The beginning of it has a little of me in it.I was going to do the whole thing, but then I got tired of it, since it was really not working for me.And a lot of the descriptions of Hogwarts aren't mine either.Well, really nothing is mine, except the way I use the characters.I know it's mean to use people, but hey, I'm mean.And a lot of the names from the Sorting are from final fantasy VIII. What can I say, I started to run dry with names, and I liked theirs just fine.So in other words, most of this chapter, I didn't come up with.Wow, that is kind of a long disclaimer.How depressing.Then on the bright side, I'm getting more and more reviews…

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Chapter Five – Sorting

As the Hogwarts express pulled to a rough stop at the Hogsmeade station, the three wizards and one witch in the compartment at the end of the train hit their heads together because they were huddled in the center of the compartment whispering.There wasn't any need for them to whisper, because no one could have heard what they were saying even had they been talking in their normal voices.Well, someone might have heard Sirius since his normal voice was pretty loud.

Both James and Sirius were rubbing their heads where they had been hit and started complaining about the stop.

"Who ever is driving this train should be fired," mumbled Sirius still rubbing his head.

"I don't think anyone drives the train," Lily said.

"Maybe that's the problem!" infuriated James.

"They probably just put a spell on it, and it drives by itself," Remus clarified.

"Well, whoever cast the spell should be fired," said Sirius, refusing to drop the subject.

"It was probably McGonagall," James said narrowing his eyes.He already didn't like her because of what she had done to his mother, (even though it had been what any normal prefect {as normal as prefects can be} should have done) and so everything that went wrong was blamed on her.Already Sirius' stupid questions and Lily's know-it-all attitude had been blamed on her, and surely numerous other things in James' mind.

"You two are so impractical!It couldn't have been McGonagall because she is at Hogwarts," Lily explained.

"Well thanks so much for enlightening us," Sirius said hauntingly, then cheerfully added, "Cupcake."

Lily sighed under her breath and rolled her eyes.She got up from her seat and walked out of the compartment with the boys running in her wake, leaving their luggage behind just as the voice of the driver, (a/n: wait, I just said there wasn't a driver, okay now I'm confusing myself!) or someone… had asked them to five minutes before.

The four pushed their way threw the corridor and out the door on to a small dark platform.It was hard to see anything because it was late at night, and there were only a few lamps and candles about, held by teachers and prefects.

Suddenly a deep voice hollered, "Firs' years!Firs' years over here!Follow me-C'mon.All the fir' years!"

James looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw a giant of a man with a long, shaggy black mane of hair, and a wild tangled beard.You could barely see his black eyes glinting behind a large amount of hair.James didn't even notice his large quantity of hair for quiet awhile.He was too busy being astonished by his size.

James looked around him, and saw that Lily, Remus, and Sirius had left him standing there like an idiot.They were already gathered around the giant along with a crowd of small and scared looking children.James couldn't see how some of these kids could be eleven.There was one girl that was half as short as he himself was.

The large man looked around and shouted, "Any more firs' years?Mind yer step now!Firs' years follow me!"

James quickly ran to catch up with the rest of the group and pushed his was through the crowd of kids until he reached where Sirius was.

The first years slowly made their way down a steep and narrow path, tripping on rocks and each other's feet.The giant led the way down the path, and everyone was silent.Everyone that is, except James and Sirius.They were jabbering all the way (not noticing how everyone was looking at them in silence) until the giant spoke again.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, for those of yeh who don' know.I'm Keeper o' Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.Call me Hagrid.Everyone does.Yeh'll see yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder interrupting James and Sirius' conversation.

The group turned a bend and Hogwarts came into sight.There was a loud, "Ooooh," from the crowd, mainly from the girls.Around the bend was a black lake, and beyond the lake was a high mountain.Perched atop the mountain was a castle with sparkling windows and many towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a group of little boats sitting in the water beside the shore.James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily all hurried to get into a boat.James in his hurry 'accidentally' ran into Lily causing her to fall into the freezing water of the lake.James, Sirius and Remus, all of whom had found this funny, were soon splashed by cold water as the fuming Lily threw water at them for laughing at her.

The four were rapidly in a huge water fight and had to be pulled out of the water and into a boat by a laughing Hagrid.

They then sat shivering in a huddle on their boat as Hagrid jumped into a boat (which he had to himself) and shouted, "Right then, now that that little war is over, everyone in?Right then - FORWARD!"

And the little fleet of boats all cast off at once, gliding across the lake.Everyone was silent, except the four whose teeth were chattering, as they neared the cliff on which the castle stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first of the boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.They were carried along a murky channel until they reached a kind of underground port, where they scrambled out of their boat and onto the dock. 

They walked up a flight of granite steps and crowded around the enormous, oak front door.Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once and standing on the other side was tall witch with black hair and was wearing emerald green robes.James first thought was to set her hair on fire at once, but decided that would have to wait until later. He didn't want her hating him before he hadn't even had any detentions!

McGonagall opened the door wide and revealed a very big room.McGonagall waited for everyone to cross the threshold into the entrance hall, and then motioned Hagrid to close the door.

They followed McGonagall into a small empty chamber off the hall.They all crowded in, standing close together.

McGonagall cleared her throat and then began her speech; the same speech she had done the past seven years she had been at Hogwarts, and the same speech she would give the remainder of her time at Hogwarts.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses.The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in you house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards.While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose your house points…"

McGonagall's speech continued, but just as she said that, James and Sirius burst into unruly laughter.They heard bits and pieces of the rest of her speech but they were too busy laughing about how bad they felt for their house to really listen all that much.

They watched McGonagall and saw her glare at them at the end of her dialogue, and saw her lips form words, but they were still laughing too hard to hear a word of what she said.Lily told them later, that McGonagall had muttered under her breath, "Not _another_ Potter."

Once James and Sirius had finished laughing McGonagall said, "I shall return when we are ready for you.Please wait quietly."The last sentence she said eying the two still grinning black haired boys in the back of the small chamber.

She walked to the back of the chamber to where the four soaked children stood and smiled at them."Here," she said."I'll dry you off."She then muttered something under her breath that was incomprehensible (only Lily might have heard) and the four where dry and warm again.

After McGonagall had left the room it was filled with whispering voices.Everyone was nervous.The word was going around that for the Sorting you would have to turn this hat into a dragon, and then defeat it.But James hardly believed that.When he had been younger his dad had him going on about turning some chairs into hippos, but then his mother had said not to worry about it, it wouldn't be hard.

The chatter continued for a few more minutes, and then McGonagall returned."Now, form a line and follow me."

Lily was so nervous that she could hardly move.She had no idea what to expect for the Sorting.She didn't have a family that could tell her.She didn't know whether to believe what people were saying or not, but they would know better then her, wouldn't they?

Lily then got pushed into the line behind James and in front of a girl with blonde hair.Sirius was in front of James, and she didn't have a clue where Remus was.The line started moving out of the door and into the Great Hall.

It was a beautiful sight.The ceiling was charmed to look like the real sky outside.Had you not known it was bewitched, (Lily did know, having read _Hogwarts, A History_ many times) you would have believed that you were under the real sky.Lily only looked at the ceiling for a moment, and then began to feel sick, and so she moved her gaze to her feet instead.Although her shoes weren't half as interesting, at least they didn't make her feel like she was going to throw up all the food she had gotten off the cart on the train.

James elbowed Sirius who was still gazing at the ceiling, and pointed to the four-legged stool McGonagall had just placed in front of them.It had a very old and worn wizard's hat on it.

"What do you suppose we're supposed to do with that?Not really turn it into a dragon, you suppose?" whispered Sirius.James shrugged.The entire hall was silent, and then… the hat twitched.I split in the hat near the brim opened wide like a mouth and the hat began to sing:

_"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

_I may seem old and worn,_

_But I guarantee that I can be witty_

_In fact, I'll eat myself if you find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

There's nothing hidden in your head

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on!Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in the flap!_

_You're safe in my hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

_ _

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song.It bowed to each of the four tables with the four houses seated in them and then became a normal old hat again.

Lily let out the breath she had been holding without knowing she was holding it.The girl next her squirmed a little and sighed as well.

"I'm so glad all we have to do is try on some old hat!I'm so relived. Aken, my older brother in his third year, kept going on about killing the giant squid in the lake.I'm going to kill _him_.You just wait."

Lily hadn't known there was a squid in the lake, but nodded anyway.Lily let her self smile and laughed nervously."I didn't know what to expect," she admitted."You see, I'm muggle born, and I didn't know what would happen except the roomers that went around in the chamber back there."

The girl looked at her warmly.Her eyes were a soft blue with gold flecks in them.Her eyes looked too big for her small body.She was short and delicate with dark golden ringlets that went just past her earlobes.She had rosy cheeks (contrasting her pale skin) and the perfect smile with straight small teeth.In fact, she looked very strange when she wasn't smiling.If she wasn't smiling and laughing, people would go up to her and ask her what was wrong.She was very pretty.And Lily liked her right away.

"Hi.I'm Aeris Lorie.And I'm going to be in Hufflepuff," said Aeris smiling.

"Hi.I'm Lily Evans.How do you know that you are going to be in Hufflepuff?I didn't think anyone really _knew_," asked Lily.

"Well, I guess that I don't really _know. _It's just that all of my family has been in Hufflepuff for the past half century.Well, except Great Aunt Lola, but I don't think she should count."

"Why?"

"Well, she was my dad's half aunt, and she was in Gryffindor.But everyone always said there was something wrong in her upper story.I met her a few times before she died last year, and she seemed normal to me.Well, more than normal than the rest of my family at least," Aeris explained.

"Oh.Well, I don't really have any idea what house I'll be in.I'm kind of hoping for Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff would be my next choice," Lily said, trying to be nice.

"Not mine.I think Hufflepuff is for losers!If I could chose, I'd pick Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw, _then_ Hufflepuff, then (yuck!) Slytherin.Hufflepuff is all good and well, but Hufflepuffs in general are all such prats!Which means everyone I'm related to is a prat.Can you imagine family reunions?They're terrible," sighed Aeris, still smiling, looking a little strange.

"Yeah, I'd love to be in Gryffindor, just so long as some boys I know aren't, if you know what I mean.They are so…. So annoying!With my luck, whatever house I'm in, they'll be in it as well."

"I know how that goes.I know a few kids that I don't want to be stuck with either," Aeris agreed, eying a short chubby boy with light brown hair and watery blue eyes."Peter.He lived in my hometown a few years ago.He tagged along everywhere me and Aken went.It's not that he's really annoying himself, it's just he followed us everywhere!"Aeris' eyes showed her anger, but she was still smiling.

"He doesn't look too bad," Lily said, eyeing the boy who was now sucking up to easily the biggest boy in the crowd.

"When I call your name," McGonagall ordered, startling most of the students who had been talking nervously, "you will put the hat on and sit on the stool to be sorted.Aaron, Devin!"

The boy Peter had been talking to with greasy brown hair and huge biceps stepped away from the crowd of first years (which he towered over most of) pushed Peter out of his way, and put on the hat, which looked tight on his huge head, and it was a big hat!

The hat was only on his head for a second before it shrieked "SLYTHERIN!" The boy stood and smugly walked over and sat down at the cheering Slytherin table, second table from the right.

McGonagall looked down at her parchment again and said, "Almasy, Seifer!"

A boy with short dreadlocks sticking up in every direction (a lot like James' hair) in his sandy blonde hair stepped up the stool and placed the Sorting hat on tilted to one side.A few people (_girls_) sitting at the tables giggled; most of the girls still in line smiled and blushed a little. 

This boy had to sit and wait longer than Devin had.After thirty seconds or so the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"The table furthest to the left exploded with cheering.The grinning Seifer walked coolly to the Gryffindor table and sat down pushing apart two girls to sit in-between them.

"Black, Sirius," said McGonagall, pronouncing Sirius' name wrong.

"It's SIRIUS!" exclaimed the pink haired Sirius, saying it correctly.McGonagall muttered an apology and hurriedly handed him the hat.A few people sniggered and pointed at his hair.

"I already have a hat, thank you.It said on the list to buy one, so I did.And mine's much nicer than yours is anyway," Sirius said pushing her hat holding hand away.

Three of the four tables cracked up laughing, but the Slytherin table remained silent.Sirius grinned at his success.

"I don't want to give you the hat, I want you to wear it," McGonagall sighed.

"Ooh, I can't.It's not my color," he explained in a high voice and played with his hair, pointing to the once black, now gray hat, causing more laughter and a few hidden grins from the Slytherins. (A/N:I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!) "Black and pink match fine, but _gray_ and pink, never!" 

"Black…"

"What are you mad women?I'm white! And my hair is pink!"More laughter. "My robes _are_black though.But how rude of you to refer to me by my robe color. Plus, then you'd have to call everybody the same thing.It could get pretty confusing you know."

"Sirius Black, stop being difficult and just put the hat on!"

"I'd love to, really I would… not.But I can't 'cause I think that Devin Aaron kid has lice," Sirius said.

Seifer's hand went to his hair and his smile faded.Everyone else laughed harder; except the Slytherins who were offended.No one had to hide their grins, for there weren't any at that table.

"He doesn't have lice, now just put it on."Seifer's hand went back to his lap, and his face regained it natural color.

"If you insist," sighed Sirius.He sat on the stool and pulled the hat on his foot, as if it were a sock, and then sat there waiting.

"Sirius Black, take that hat off your foot and put it on your head.NOW!"

Sirius sighed again and took the hat off his foot.He stared at it for a moment, and then placed it on his head, the opening of the hat facing right, the point facing left.The laughter continued.

McGonagall's face reddened and she gasped, "Detention, tomorrow night.With Filch, at eight."The four tables gasped.He got detention, on his first day?This kid was good.

A grin could be seen as McGonagall stuffed the hat on his head._There's one,_ though Sirius, making a list in his head.Sirius, one; James, Zip.

"Hmm," the hat said in his head."This really isn't too hard.Let's think.I'd have to say GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius heard the hat shout the last word.He stood up and walked slowly to the table and sat down.James grinned at him and shot him two thumbs up.Sirius smiled and returned the gesture.

Sirius was followed by, "Bowen, Jennifer" who was the first Ravenclaw followed by "Dagget, Chez" who was a Gryffindor.Then two Hufflepuff girls, "Dincht, Selphie," and "Erickson, Rinoa."Then…

"Evans, Lily!" Lily wiped her sweaty hands on her robe and walked tensely to the stool and placed the Sorting hat on her head.The hat was much too big for her and she looked at the inside of the hat, while listening to what it was saying.

"Hmm, you're a tough one you are.Could be in anyone of the houses you could.You sure are a smart one, that's for sure but then… so much courage.The courage overshadows everything else.Better make it GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily sighed a relived sigh, and stood still shaking.She looked back and her eyes met James'.He smiled and gave her thumbs up too.She smiled back and walked to the Gryffindor table, sitting almost on the end, so she wasn't close to Sirius.Sirius noticed this, and slide over next to her, "Hey... honey."She rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"Gildy, Sam" was another Slytherin."Hydle, Quinn" and "Jerkins, Penny" were Ravenclaws. "Kinneas, Leon" was Hufflepuff."Longbottom, Frank," caught James' attention.This was probably his dad's friend's son.But when Frank was Ravenclaw, he pretty much forgot about him.

"Lorie, Aeris!" Lily looked up and grinned encouragingly at her new friend.Aeris grinned back, a little less believable then her normal smile, though.The hat was on her head for nearly ten minutes (it seemed a lot longer than that) before it pronounced her Gryffindor.Lily jumped up and down and screamed.She was by far the loudest Gryffindor.

Aeris walked down off the stage and to the Gryffindor table, and sat next to Lily."I'm so glad I'm Gryffindor!" said Aeris. 

"So am I!" agreed Lily.

"I was nearly Hufflepuff, but I pleaded with the hat, and it changed its mind."

"I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I."

"Lupin, Remus," was called and the hat barely touched his head, before it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" 

Remus ran to the Gryffindor table and was about to sit next to Sirius, when he saw the look in his eye, and sat down leaving one seat between Sirius and himself. 

"McKesson, Kenny"… "McPherson, Lance"… "Mess, Hannah"… "Paige, Quistis"… "Parks, Darren"… "Pettigrew, Peter"… "Pots, Ferric" and finally,

"Potter, James!"

James stepped forward, his green, blue, black, white, and yellow hair catching everyone's attention.One look at him, and McGonagall sighed and rubbed her forehead.She knew what she was headed for.

But, surprisingly, James said nothing.He simply went to the stool, sat down, and put the hat on.McGonagall was astonished.Sirius wasn't.He knew what was coming, and started to drift into sleep muttering, "This is going to take awhile; world record, coming right up..."

"This is going to be difficult," said the voice in James head.

_That's alright_, thought James._We're not rushed on time._

"Yes of course we are."

_That's nonsense.They can't do anything about it if we just sit here and chitchat for a while.So, how's your family?"_

_ _

"My, excuse me, family?I'm a hat, I don't have family."

Really?That's so sad.How did they die?Car-crash maybe.I hear that's how a lot of muggles are dying now a days.

_ _

"I told you, I'm a hat, and I know what you are trying to do.Just trying to take up time!I can see into your mind, remember?"

Yes I remember.But shouldn't you have known that I remember?Maybe you can't do everything you said you could do.

"Of course I can.I just like to be humble."

I like to be annoying.

"Yes, I know."

I know that you know!It's so hard to have a normal conversation with a know-it-all hat!

"I'm not a know-it-all hat."

I think you are.And you know that I think that, because you are a know-it-all hat!

"Well, maybe you do have a point, but really, I think I need to go back to Sorting you."

But you don't really want to, do you?I don't need to be a know-it-all hat to know that.Wouldn't you rather tell me your problems and likes, instead of looking through mine?It's somewhat nice to actually have conversations, you know.

"Actually I don't know.Not from hands on experience."

You are such poor hat.Never to have known what it's like to really live.Never had a family.Or friends. To have to sing songs, and to not be appreciated every year, that must be really tough.

"Oh it is.It really is!But you're the first one to understand that!Everyone else just takes me for granted.I'm just a hat, they think, I don't have feelings, I wont care if the stick their stinky feet in me!"

I have to apologize for that one.My friend Sirius and I are troublemakers, and I helped him think of that.We weren't thinking about you.I'm so sorry.Well, I didn't really help him think of that, because I didn't know how we were going to be sorted, but had I gone before him, instead of him before me, I would have probably done the same thing. I know that you already knew all that but isn't it just so much nicer that hear it from me, instead of going through my head and finding it?

"Yes, it really was.So this is what a conversation is like."

Yeah, pretty much.

"This is nice.It's nice to know that you understand me.No one has understood me since Beauxbatons and Durmstrang where built."

Why's that?

"I said I didn't have family.Not in the way you do at least.But in a strange way I do.There were these two other hats made in the same way I was for the same purpose.One went to Beauxbatons and the other went to Durmstrang.Before they were sent off, however, we got to talk.But that was so long ago, I almost forgot about it.So this is my second conversation I'm having here."

Two conversations in your whole, long life is pretty pitiful.I'm sorry that you had to be a hat.You really would have made a nice friend.If only you were born in my… decade…well, lifetime.If you want, you can sort me now even though it's only been fifteen minutes.I was hoping for thirty minutes, but you better get back to work; otherwise you'll be up all night.

"Oh, I don't care if I am up all night.This is the only time the whole year that I get to do anything worth while, and I'm going to take as long as I want with my friend James!"

You show them… um…do you have a name?

"Not really.When I was with the other hats, I had a nickname though.I can't remember it right now, but it will come to be if I think about it."

Okay, neat.

"Okay.Let me think.The Beauxbatons hat we called Chimp, because she had this thing for monkeys.I don't know why, but I guess the man who made her, messed her up a little.Man would she go on and on about those monkeys. And Durmstrang was Drum, because you know, Durm-Drum, they are similar."

Yeah, they are.And who were you?

I was myself.

Well, not who then.What was your nickname?

I'm trying to remember.I think it was, Stallion.Yes, Stallion.

Stallion?Where in the heck did they get that?

"It's a little confusing.First take Hogwarts.Then, the next one is obvious.When you think of the word Hogwarts, what do you think of?"

A pig with warts, right?

"Right.So, a female pig, or male, is often called a swine."

Okay.I get it that far.But how do they get Stallion out of swine?

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there.So then, swine rhymes with stein, stein almost rhymes with Clyde, and then you get Clydesdale, as in horse.Horse then goes to Stallion."

That made no sense whatsoever.

"I don't think it does either, but Drum insisted that it did."

I think that you should have named Drum, Psychopath instead of Drum.It sure would have fit him better. 

"I'll agree with that!

So, why didn't you let Chimp name you instead?

"We had a deal going on.I named Chimp, Chimp named Drum, and Drum named me.I think I got the worst end of the deal, but Stallion isn't too bad of a name."

No, it isn't. 

"If Chimp had named me I might have ended up with Warts or Hoggie or something like that, so maybe it's a good thing."

Yeah that's probably true.I have a question real fast… Oh, never mind I just answered it myself.

James heard the Stallion chuckle in his head.

Don't make fun, just because I forgot that you could sing out loud.

"Sorry"

S'okay.You just hurt my feelings really bad.

"I did not!I can still look into your head.

Oh yeah.For a minute there I for got that you are a know-it-all hat!

"Fine, fine, I wont do it again."

You better not. Question though – did you all have to sing to each other when you had the conversation, or what?

"I can talk."

That is much more convenient than singing.

"Yes, I know."

And so James and Stallion continued on with their conversation. (A/N:I could keep going with their conversation, but this chapter is long enough as it is, and I don't want to do ten more pages!)Subjects varying.Going from Quidditch to Headmasters of the past.Stallion even replayed the Sorting of his mother and father for James.Along with Dumbledore's own Sorting, which was rather interesting.

Stallion?How long have we been talking?

"About an hour and seven minutes."

Whoa!That's a lot longer than I thought it would be.Time sure does fly, doesn't it?

"Sure does.I hate for you to go, but I think that I had better start deciding where you are going to end up."

Yeah, you'd better.Too bad I'll never be able to talk to you again.It was really fun.

"That makes me feel terrible.I'll never talk to you again."

Well.You might. I'm sure I'll go so Dumbledore's office enough, and while I'm there, I'll find you and talk to you.

"Okay. I'm just going to think in my own head for a minute.I'd feel stupid talking about nonsense like I do with the other Sortings." And then Stallion was quiet.The silence was almost deafening for James after talking for an hour.After another ten minutes Stallion sighed.You really are hard.I think you'll have to be a Gryffindor."

James pulled off the hat and stood up, but there was no cheering.He looked around and realized everyone was asleep and Stallion must not have yelled the last word.James looked at McGonagall (sleeping standing up) laughed a little and put Stallion back on his head.

Stallion.I can't stay here forever.I need you to yell out Gryffindor for me.Please.

"Okay.I'll miss you James.

I'll miss you too, Stallion.

"Bye.GRYFFINDOR!"Stallion yelled the last word and the whole hall, most of who had been sleeping, looked up and many shouted out in surprise.Then there was silence for a while and then the whole Gryffindor table burst into loud cheers, waking up any who hadn't already awoke.

When James took his seat next to Sirius (who was pretending to be asleep still) he grabbed Sirius' ear, and jerked him up."Ouch," Sirius complained, holding his ear.

"Sorry.Did you time that?I think it was about an hour and eight minutes."

"I timed it.One hour, nine minutes and thirty-eight seconds.Impressive.You've got to have beaten the record, if there is one."

"Yeah," James agreed.

"Pun, Kaki"…"Pun, Kari"… "Reese, Ryan"… "Roundy, Paula"… "Rulings, Serge"… "Sage, Kalona"… No one stood out to James and Sirius until the name "Snape, Severus" was called.A boy with greasy black hair a hooked nose, and sallow skin walked up to Stallion.He placed Stallion on top of his greasy mass of hair, and James suddenly felt very sorry for Stallion.To have someone with hair as greasy as that, and skin so sallow, (a/n:hehe, I feel like I'm repeating myself) put you on his head, must be terrible.

"He's perfect," whispered Sirius.

"Perfect for what?" Lily and Aeris asked at the same time.

"To torture," James said.

"To torture?" questioned Aeris.

"That is what he said, isn't it?" Sirius smirked.

"Yes, but I don't understand why he is perfect, he sure doesn't look perfect" Aeris said.

"To torture," added Lily.

"Because he is such a git," Sirius explained.

"How can you tell that?You haven't even met the fellow."

"And we don't need to, to be able to tell that he is Slytherin to the core.That really isn't a pleasant thing to be," James said, soundings as if it were a known fact and that the girls were thick for not knowing this.

"You aren't going to torture him before he gives you a reason to, are you James?" asked Lily.

"'Course not.But it wont take very long for him to prove himself worthy of our claming he is perfect," James said, and Sirius nodded.

"Perfect for what?" asked the exasperated Aeris.

"To torture!"Her three companions practically yelled.

"Why didn't you just say so?" James rolled his eyes."You boys are so silly," exclaimed Aeris.

"Are not!" argued Sirius.

"Yes, you are," Lily said agreeing with Aeris.

"Sirius, just admit that you are silly," James said, pushing his friend.

"She was talking about both of us, kid."

"Yeah, but it doesn't apply to me, 'cause it ain't the truth."

"Yes it is!" the three said at once.  
  


"Fine, fine.But I'm only agreeing because I'm out numbered."


	6. Chocolate and Strawberries

A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed, and seeing as how I promised, I guess I'd better thank you all

A/N: Unfortunately my betas are out of town, (or were when I wrote this, but then ff.net went down the day I was going to post!) so my brother proofed this not them.So, thank you brother.JAnd he also gave me a few pointers in this chapter, so thanx again to him.And of course, thank you all of you who have reviewed.

**New York Times:**As requested, I'm thanking you first.You'd better be happy.I hope that you keep reading, because I really enjoy your reviews. **Jinskid3:**I'm glad that you like.I'll try.***Chocolate Frogs*:**I love long chapters; I'm glad that you do too. I'm glad you like Stallion; I like him too.And now you've gone and given it away about Aeris.Jeez!**Super saya-Jin Goten:**Wow, I like the song.No one's ever sung to me in a review before.I kinda like it.I'm delighted that you like it so much.Just a guess, but you like DBZ, huh?**Luna*Star:**Thanx.**Sakura:**Sorry, maybe I should have continued with the conversation, since that was everybody's fav part.But it had to end sometime.I'm glad you like it too.**Flamin Phoenix: **Thanx.I'll try and post seven pretty soon.Sorry that six took so long, stupid ff.net!**Jeff:**Thanks a lot. See if I come to your birthday party.Nah I'm just kidding.**Rons_Mine:**Biscuits?Oh, you're talking about the crackers, right?Sorry, I'm American so I really don't know all the British words.Everybody loves the conversation with the can, including me!**Fairlight:**Thanks.**Rain93:**Thanx.I will.**Milkyweed:**Thank you.I will.**Sailor Galaxie:**I will, I'm glad.Thanks.I know, the hat's great.The best thing in my fic, I'm sure.**James and Sirius:**I'm a little disappointed with you.That was pretty much an email!You didn't say a thing about my fic.How sad.But still, thanx for the thought, I guess.

Disclaimer:Really and truly I'm tired of these things.I think this will be my last one! (Yeah, right)Anywho, nothing from the Harry Potter books is mine and some of the names don't belong to me either.

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Chapter Six – Chocolate and Strawberries

As soon as "Zrelly, Vapory" was made a Gryffindor, McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took Stallion and the stool away.She had grabbed Stallion a little forcefully, and James was once again sorry for his hat of a friend.

Looking at the empty golden plate in front of him and forgetting all about Stallion, James' stomach rumbled softly, and reminded him that he hadn't eaten since the pretzel hours ago.He was starving.Why hadn't he made Lily share all the things she bought off the cart? She had gotten ten chocolate frogs, and she had eaten them all herself, not sharing even when Sirius asked her.Or why hadn't he at least bought something for himself?What was he, stupid or something?Wait, don't answer that, he told his self-conscience.

Dumbledore stood and began speaking,"I have a little speech that I give every year," his blue eyes twitched in the direction of James and Sirius.Sirius' stomach growled loudly causing all of the Gryffindor and half the Ravenclaw students to look at him; many smiled and some voiced their agreement with his stomach.Dumbledore smiled and continued, "But I can see the hunger in your eyes and hear your stomachs protesting, so I will give it after you have all been fed and watered." Dumbledore waved his hand and the empty plated became full of wonderful foods.

James started stuffing himself immediately.He soon had four plates worth of food stacked on his one plate so it was a tower ofpork chops, potatoes, steak, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and every other imaginable food desirable, and even some not desirable.Unfortunately, he had been foolish enough to but his jello by his ribs, and now they looked uneatable.James stuffed them in his mouth anyway.Not too bad really.James had been really looking forward to dining like this three times a day.His mom hated cooking and usually just let them feed themselves with stuff around the house, but this food was wonderful.

As they were eating, Sirius started a conversation with Aeris."So, who are you?" he asked spraying her with mashed potatoes.

"Aeris Lorie," she said wiping the gravy off her forehead where Sirius had hit her.

"Well, we heard that much," Sirius told her.

"Oh," she said blushing."What else do you want to know?"

"Where ya from and stuff like that?"

"I'm from London, England."

"Oh.We know what country London is in; we are British you know.Well, how many people do you have in your family and such?"

"I have a mother and a father," she began.

"Oh that's good.Because if you had two of one and none of the other, we would start to worry," Sirius stated.Aeris started giggling hysterically, and everyone looked at her as if she had grown two heads and her hair had turned purple.

"It wasn't that funny," James stated.

Aeris looked as if she were trying to calm down, and failing terribly.She just couldn't stop smiling.Lily looked at her new friend and started patting her on the back, and whispering in her ear.

"Girls," muttered James, rolling his eyes.

Once Aeris was breathing normal again, Sirius said, "Continue."He sounded so business-like that it almost caused her to burst into laugher all over again.She was obviously a very happy person.

"Well, I have two older brothers.One already graduated from Hogwarts, last year.He is working for the ministry now."Seeing the confused look on Lily's face she added, "The Ministry of Magic," Lily nodded, as if she had known all along."He is engaged to be married, and will be on July 19, next year.He's going to marry Malaya Jones.She is the same age as him.My next brother is Aken.He's in his third year this year.He's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and he'sthe Keeper.I have one little sister who is three years younger than I am.Her name is Julian, well she's…"

"Okay, more about your family than I wanted to know. I was only asking a polite question, to start a conversation with a cute girl.If I had wanted you to write me a book, I would have asked!" Sirius said holding his hand over her lips to stop her from going on.

Aeris blushed a deep red and muttered touching her lips were he had, "Oh, sorry."

"Don't apologize to him!He's the one who should be apologizing to you!He's the one being a prat here," Lily said, enraged.

"It's not that big of a deal," Aeris mumbled.

"Yes it is." Lily said, standing up."He gets enough attention as it is!"

"Lily," James said. "By yelling at him, you're only drawing more attention to him."James waved his hand at the rest of the Gryffindor table, most of which were watching either Sirius or Lily.

"Oh," Lily said softly, sitting back down in her seat.She didn't say anything again until the meal disappeared and the deserts replaced them.

"Ooh!Chocolate-dipped strawberries.My favorite!" Lily exclaimed, scaring everyone since they were used to her silence.

"Gross.I hate those things.My mum made 'em when I was three, and hasn't made 'em since because I hated 'em so much.Well, then again, they just might have been disgusting because my mum's not much of a cook, but I like to think that they are always nasty, not just when my mum makes them," James said, stuffing his face with some of the chocolate éclairs.

"Well I like them," Lily stated.

"I never said you didn't." James was still eating deserts as if his life depended on it.

"But you called them gross."

"Yup.I admit it.I did.And I only speak the truth."

"You're such a pig!" Lily told James who had food all over his face.

"Ha!Pig!That reminds me.Did any of you know that the Sorting Hat has a name?Its name is Stallion."

"And pig reminded you of that, how?" questioned Aeris.

"To make a long story short; his Beauxbatons and Durmstrang hat buddies, named him that.Drum (Durmstrang) came up with it.I can't remember it exactly, but it was something like, Hogwarts to Hog; hog to pig; pig to swine; and then swine somehow went to Clyde, and that to Clydesdale.I don't know how, but now his name is Stallion."

"That doesn't even make any sense." Aeris said with a silly shake of the head. "They should have named him Belgian. Yeeaahh!"

"But that still doesn't make any sense." Said James with an exasperated look on his face.

"What. It makes perfect sense. Belgian? BELGIAN?? Don't you get it? When you shorten Belgian what do you get?"

James gave her a questioning look…"I dunno. What?"

Everyone stared at Aeris, Waiting…Waiting…

"Urg… Don't ya get it?I don't believe this!!!" she then slammed her head against the table right into her pudding.

"Uh, Urg lives very far from here." Said Remus with an all-knowing look.

"Yeah, and that still didn't make any sense," added James.Aeris glared at James, the chocolate pudding dripping from her bangs (A/N: fringe) into her blue eyes, and then turned to talk to Sirius instead.He might only talk to her because she was pretty, but at least he didn't insult her… very often. 

They continued to eat in almost silence (as close as you can get with three crazy boys and two…normal girls) for the next minute or two, and then Lily spoke.

"James?So you don't like strawberries and chocolate?"

"Nope.Not together anyway."

"Then take this!" and with that, she flipped her spoon at him, which contained two strawberries dipped in steaming hot chocolate.

The furious James (with burning chocolate dripping off his nose, and one strawberry down the front of his robes) scooped up several rock hard peppermint cakes and flung them at Lily.Only two of the seven hit her, the others hit five unsuspecting people.

The first one hit a very tall Ravenclaw head girl in the forehead, leaving a red welt.The second one hit Chez Dagget square in the middle of the back.The third and fourth stray peppermint cakes hit two older Gryffindors that James didn't know.

Ah but the fifth one, the fifth one was the grand finale.The fifth one hit Severus Snape right on his large, sloping nose, causing it to start bleeding immediately. Severus yelled out in pain.

James and Sirius of course started to laugh at the sight of the git holding his huge nose, and having blood oozing from in-between his fingers.In fact, they were laughing so hard, that James continued to laugh even after Chez dumped a bowl of ice-cream down the back of his robes.

James was still laughing (and laughed harder) when Seifer (with what looked like caramel dripping from his dreadlocks) stood on the table and yelled, "Food Fight!" as he flung some cheesecake at Kaki Pun, who was sitting across from him.Kaki screamed and threw the remainder of her banana pudding at Seifer, missing completely and hitting Remus – who was seven people away from Seifer, in the face.

Remus shrugged and stood on the table holding a plate filled with gooey dessert in each hand."Food Fight!" he repeated.Remus chucked the plates across the room, most of the treats hitting some screaming Hufflepuff girls.One of the plates hit Snape's already blood gushing nose (James and Sirius by this time were rolling on the floor about to pee their pants) and the other hit some Slytherin third year, whose hair was so blonde it was almost white, in the stomach.

And so the food fight raged on.James soon recovered and joined in, but the first cream custard he threw hit Snape and so Sirius -who then began laughing all over again- was therefore unable to join in until it was too late.Just when he had returned to his normal, messed up self, and was about to throw the remains of his chocolate cake, when Professor McGonagall put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I wouldn't do that.You're in enough trouble as it is."

Sirius threw the cake anyway, but McGonagall didn't even notice.She had advanced on James.

"James Potter!Detention!Tomorrow!At nine, with Professor Ethan!" James smiled and turned to face McGonagall.He turned fast enough that some of the food that was sticking to his body was flung off of him and hit McGonagall in the face.He started to laugh, but stopped at the look she gave him.She was boiling mad."POTTER!You will have another detention right after the first one is finished, with me!"

"Yes ma'am," James said saluting her as if he were in the army spraying her with more food.

"Dang," Sirius muttered under his breath."Sirius one.James two."

Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.The hall became practically silent almost immediately.That was fairly simple seeing as how the loudest in the hall (Sirius and James-who else?) had already been silenced.Dumbledore cleared his throat softly again, and the hall was completely hushed.

"I can see that most of you want to get to your dormitories and get all cleaned up, however, I do still have a few things to say.

"The Forbidden Forest is to live up to its name, and be forbidden to allstudents. Should I repeat that, or did everyone hear me.The Forbidden Forest is forbidden."

"Can't come up with very original names here at Hogwarts, can they?" whispered Sirius to James, who smiled but stopped himself from laughing. "They should have named it, 'The Forest of Death.'"

"Maybe that's not very original either because the reason it is forbidden is because there are deadly things in there."

"Still, if they aren't going to come up with an original name, they might as well use a good not very original name."

McGonagall looked at them sternly but said nothing.Dumbledore continued after he had finished eyeing the Gryffindor table, looking at a distinctive fifth year in particular. "Quidditch trails will be held in two weeks.If there are any second years or above interested in playing for their house team, they should contact Madam Hooch."

"I wish first years could join.I'd be the first on the list," James muttered to Sirius.Sirius nodded, but didn't mention that he wasn't very good at Quidditch.That didn't stop him from playing it and loving it; he just didn't think that he would be able to make the team, especially without making a fool of himself and falling off his broom several times.

"And finally, I must tell you all that a Whomping Willow has been planted on the grounds, and I warn you all to stay away from it.Those of you who studied them in Herbology last year know what they can do to you, and the rest of you; just trust the others and don't go near it.

"Usually we would sing the school song right now, but I can see few of you are feeling up to that.Now, go clean up and go to bed."

James turned to look at all his friends.He could hardly see Remus' face, but from what he could see, he looked absolutely sick. "Remus, you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine.I just had a bad experience with a Whomping Willow that's all." His face turning a bright red, he ran and caught up with the prefect who was leading them to the Gryffindor common room.

"Wonder what's up with him?" asked Sirius as they filed out of the Great Hall.

_"_Me too."


	7. Dormitories

A/N: Wow! It's been such a long time since I've updated. I'm really sorry about that. I guess that I've just been really busy, but that is no excuse because I've had this written for months. My deepest apologies I didn't put it out sooner. I kind of haven't been on the computer that much, and when I do get on I usually only have time to check my e-mail. I'll probably have to next chapter out in a few days. Knowing me, that means a year j/k. I think that maybe the reason I didn't update sooner is because I really hate this chapter. It's just really boring, sorry to say. The next chapter isn't quite as bad. It's just that I have to introduce all the new peps and stuff. Sorry it's so boring; I didn't feel like spicing it up.  
  
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Chapter Seven – Dormitories  
  
There were only ten showers in the boys' bathroom in the Gryffindor house, and seeing as how everyone needed a shower except the head boy and a second year, some people had to wait. Some of the impatient sixth and seventh years did a spell that cleaned all the filth off of them, but left them still feeling dirty. They supposed that that was fine for now, and they could take a shower in the morning.  
  
James and Sirius were somehow the first ones in the bathroom, (probably because of the amount of pushing and shoving they did) and therefore the only first years that got to take a shower in the first round. They bravely laughed at their muck covered roommates waiting in line for a shower as they passed by them on their way back to their dorm, and were nearly sprayed with bits and pieces of food, but luckily, Chez' aim wasn't perfect, and he hit the space of wall only centimeters away.  
  
Once they had changed into their pajamas and switched their trunks with the trunks of the other boys so they had the two beds in the back of the room right by the South window the two troublemakers sat on Sirius' bed and talked.  
  
"So I was thinking that tonight would be the best night to go explore the castle for the first time. It's the first day and everyone is tired, so the teachers will expect everyone to go to bed right away. Which we will only we won't stay in bed very long, if you know what I mean. No one will be expecting us to go looking for trouble and passageways on the first day," James smirked.  
  
"Yeah. So, you think we should get back up around… Midnight or so?"  
  
"Probably. Maybe one. I mean after all, even we need a little sleep before the first day of school. And seeing as how I'm not going to get much sleep tomorrow night, what with the two detentions and all, not like I'm bragging or anything, but who has two and who has one…"  
  
"Fine little baby, we'll make it one o'clock. Just for inkle-winkle Jamie- kins!" Sirius teased, trying to get James off his gloating streak.  
  
"Oh shut it!"  
  
"Yes sir!" said Sirius, mock-saluting James, just as James had saluted McGonagall.  
  
"I'm serous!" James protested.  
  
Sirius opened his mouth to say he was Sirius, but he thought better of it by the murderous look on James' face, and expertly changed the subject back to the late night excursion. "So one then, is it?"  
  
James' face lightened and he smiled. "Yes one. I'll just set my watch to go off at one, and hope it's not too loud and wakes up the whole dormitory."  
  
"Bad idea. Those watch alarms can be pretty loud, and we might have some light sleepers in here. Or you might be laying on your arm weird, and not hear it at all. Look, I've got a built in clock in my head. I can always tell what time it is within five minutes, without looking at a watch. Right now it's nine forty, am I right?"  
  
"Well," said James looking at his watch, "more like 9:42, but close enough for me."  
  
"I've never really needed an alarm clock, because I can just set the built in one on in my head. I'll set it for 1:10, alright?"  
  
"Okay, good. That's kinda cool."  
  
"And now I want to get my beauty sleep," Sirius proclaimed, shoving James off his bed and onto the floor. James had tried to stop his fall, by grabbing onto the scarlet curtains that surrounded the bed, but instead of stopping him, they ripped off the bed and fell with in a heap with him onto the floor between their beds.  
  
The two of them sat there like that (James on the floor, tangled in the curtains and Sirius lying on his back pounding the bed) laughing for nearly ten minutes. Then Sirius decided he was tired and fell asleep immediately.  
  
For James it was a little harder. First he had to get untangled from the bed curtains. While he was already on the floor he started to do push-ups. He heard Sirius snort.  
  
"I thought you were asleep," commented James, not slowing down in his push- ups.  
  
"Well, you thought wrong. Can't be the first time. Why you doing those anyway? Trying to show off?"  
  
"You don't think that I get muscles from just sitting around and eating as much as I can as fast as I can, do you?" asked James just as he finished his fifty push-ups. He flipped quickly onto his back and started to do some sit-ups.  
  
"No, I guess not, but I didn't really think you were in this good of shape."  
  
"What? You think fifty push-ups are good? You should see me when I'm at home. We have a bunch of weights and stuff, and I usually do those before I go to bed too."  
  
"Wow. I had no idea," Sirius said through a yawn. "Now I know you're brag… braggn…ing," Sirius stifled another yawn. James looked up at him and smiled. Sirius looked to be asleep again.  
  
James knew that working out before he went to bed was just an excuse so he didn't have to go to sleep as soon, but to everyone else, he just seemed a little weird, and really obsessed with being in shape.  
  
He picked himself up from off the floor and seated himself on his own bed across from Sirius. He got under the covers, put his glasses on the bed stand next to him, and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. But he always had nightmares about being tied to a headstone in a cemetery and watching as hooded and masked dark figures surrounded him. The dream always ended just as a man who looked remarkably like a snake stood and watched as a man with one arm came up to him with a long silver knife. Even just the thought of the dream would keep James awake for hours. And he had that dream almost every night. It was terrible. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. It was bad and all, but it wasn't the worst dream that he had ever had.  
  
Ten minutes later James was still not close to being asleep, but when the other first year boys came in, he pretended that he was. He opened one eye a crack and looked around.  
  
"Shh!" Remus said pointed at Sirius and James.  
  
"I'm sure the two of them can sleep through an earthquake!" Seifer exclaimed, obviously not worried about waking them up.  
  
"So, what do you think of them? I think that they are a little weird, but they sure are going to be a lot of fun! Did you see McGonagall's face? I almost started laughing too."  
  
"Yeah, it was great," said someone, James wasn't sure who it was. It was either Peter Pettigrew, or Zell Tilmitt. James smiled to himself. So he and Sirius were causing a riot after all.  
  
****  
  
Lily looked at the reflection of herself dressed in a gold bathrobe, with another towel wrapped around her head like a turban. She really wanted to go to bed right now, but she couldn't for another hour. She had to blow dry her hair and then curl it under, so it would go good for their first classes. She wished that she could just let it dry naturally, but she couldn't because her hair was just a little bit naturally curly. If she let it just dry it would look terrible tomorrow morning.  
  
After Lily had dried off and changed into her pajamas, she returned to the large mirror in the girl's tower. She fingered her hair for a minute before she decided that she would try the spell she heard Professor McGonagall use to dry James, Sirius, Remus, and herself off. She knew it was a little dangerous, and might be a complex spell, but she thought that she could handle it. Just to be safe she decided to try it out first.  
  
She grabbed a washcloth from the bottom drawer and ran water over it. Once it was soaked through, she placed it on the counter in front of her, and rubbed her hands together.  
  
Holding her willow wand in her left hand, Lily sighed. She hoped this worked. "Elergerus," she said and waved her wand just the way that the professor had.  
  
For a minute she thought it had worked, but then the rag caught on fire. Lily was about to scream when a girl pushed her aside and splashed water on the washcloth.  
  
"Thank you," murmured Lily from her seat on the floor.  
  
"Your welcome," said the short girl who had pushed her out of the way. "I'm a prefect and I thought it my duty. My name is Marie Potter, what's yours?" asked Marie as she held out a hand to help Lily up.  
  
"Lily Evans. Did you say Potter? Does that mean that you are related to James?"  
  
"He's my step nephew," explained Marie.  
  
"Oh… Wait! Did you say nephew? Aren't you a little young to be his aunt? You look like you're younger than me!" And it was true. Marie couldn't be taller than 1.4 meters (approximately four foot seven inches). Although her hair was also black, she didn't look much like James. She seemed to be Spanish. She even had a small accent. She looked seven, maybe nine at the oldest, but to be a prefect you had to be in your fifth year, which meant she was fifteen. That seemed impossible.  
  
"I see you've meet him. I know that I don't look anything like him, but I'm his step aunt, I'm not supposed to look like him or act like him for that matter. I'm his father's stepsister, which is really weird. You see, about fourteen years ago, James's grandfather remarried. He married my mother. I was already born. Although I was just a little baby a year and a half old. My mother is almost twenty years younger than he is, but they seem happy and that's all that matters."  
  
"I see. Anyway, thank you for helping me with that fire," Lily said, amazed that this girl could be related to James, even through marriage. Her mom married an old man? What was she, mad?  
  
"You were trying to do a drying off charm, huh? You said it right and everything, but you shouldn't have waved your wand that hard. You did dry the rag off. It's just that you dried it off so much that it caught on fire. You need to be more careful. Professor Flickwick told us about this one wizard who set his house on fire when all he was trying to do was dry off his hands. The same thing happened to me the first time I tried it in Charms. Go ahead and try again," offered Marie putting the now dripping rag back on the counter.  
  
"Okay." Lily closed her eyes for a minute to concentrate. Then she swooshed her wand more softly this time and said, "Elergerus." To her relief the washrag dried off, and did not catch fire. "Thank you so much!" She beamed at Marie.  
  
"You're welcome," said Marie as she walked off and out the door.  
  
The happy Lily danced a little jig and then folded up the washcloth and placed it back in its drawer.  
  
Even though she had managed to dry the cloth, she was still a little nervous about doing it to herself. She finally convinced herself that she would be okay, and waved her wand at herself and said the magic word. Looking in the mirror, she saw a frizzy (yet dry) haired girl. Lily was too tired to curl her hair, but knew she had to.  
  
Suddenly a thought struck her. How was she going to use her curling iron? There wasn't any electricity at Hogwarts, and she for sure couldn't leave her hair like this! What's a girl to do? She thought to herself. I'll figure it out in the morning. Lily yawned and walked out of the bathroom and up the stairs to the dormitory that said over the door, First Year Girls at the top of the tower.  
  
Lily walked in and looked around at the five girls already there sitting on their beds. Lily saw that the empty bed had her trunk at the foot of it, and was also right by Aeris'.  
  
Good, she thought, Aeris is the only person I even know the name of in here! Lily really wished that she had paid more attention to the Sorting Ceremony, instead of staring at James.  
  
"Hullo!" said a friendly looking girl with flaming red hair that was in the bed on the opposite side as Aeris. "I'm Melissa Weasley. You're Lily Evans, right?"  
  
Melissa's red hair was a little above her shoulders and had blonde streaks in it (they didn't look natural, but you never know). Lily liked her right away. She had a ready smile and dimpled cheeks. She had blue green eyes the color of the ocean. She was skinny and about 1.5 meters (just under five feet) tall.  
  
"Yeah, I am. And sorry, I don't really know who anyone is, except Aeris, and now Melissa."  
  
"Oh, well I'm Kaki Pun and I have one thing to say to you; you lucky thing! Sitting with all those hot guys! I'd have loved to trade places, but I was sitting across from Seifer Almasy, so I guess I shouldn't be jealous! Oh! He's a hottie!" Lily smiled but said nothing as all of the other girls agreed that Lily was lucky, but only after agreeing that Seifer was hot.  
  
Kaki's long hair was light blonde and her eyes were baby blue; she was a boy's dream girl. She was really nice, but to Lily, seemed like she was going to date every boy in the school. Which wasn't really a bad thing, its just Lily didn't want her near James. Weird, she hadn't thought that she liked James enough to care about what girls he dated. I wish I knew what was going on in my head!  
  
The next girl to introduce herself was Quistis Paige. She had dirty-blonde hair that was a little past midway down her back. It was straight as straight can be. Her eyes were just a plain hazel, but when she stared at you, she gave you the shivers. She also was very nice and taught Lily a charm that would curl your hair under, and made it calm down so it wasn't so frizzy. Lily couldn't see how Quistis knew it, since her hair wasn't curled under.  
  
The last girl in their dorm to be introduced was Vapory Zrelly. She had shoulder length, wavy brown hair and dark blue eyes. Lily guessed that she would be all the competition to Kaki.  
  
The girls talked for nearly an hour before they decided it was time for bed and went to sleep. But no one could sleep for at least another half an hour, because Melissa wouldn't stop talking about her brother, Arthur, and his wife who just had the cutest little baby named Bill. After Quistis had assured Melissa, "That is great and all, but if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to punch your lights out," Melissa laughed, but stopped talking. 


	8. Late Night Excursion

Chapter Eight – Late Night Excursion  
  
At exactly 1:11 Sirius Black's eyes opened and he sat up in his bed. Picking up James' wristwatch off the bed stand, he was happy to see that he had been almost perfect in his timing. He got out of bed and stepped over to the bed next to him and hit James really hard on the head to wake him up. James' eyes flipped open. His mouth opened, and he was about to say something, probably a cuss, but Sirius quickly covered James' mouth with his hand to silence him.  
  
Grabbing Sirius' hand from his mouth, James flung it away. "I said wake me up, not scare the crap out of me!" whispered James furiously. "What time is it anyway?"  
  
"1:11. Well, now it's 1:12, but when I woke up, it was 1:11."  
  
"Well aren't you a special one," muttered the still irritated James throwing the covers off himself.  
  
"I'm sorry James. Really, I am. It's just that you were just lying there, innocent as a little baby. It was scaring me. Come on, you know you would have done the same thing had you been in my position," Sirius pointed out.  
  
James' long face was soon replaced with a wicked grin. He eyed the five other occupants in the room, other than himself and Sirius. "Well, no I don't think I would have done the same thing. I think I'm a little meaner than that." Sirius grinned too.  
  
"So, what you're getting at is that maybe, before we leave for our little tour of the castle, we should be kind and show our dorm buddies who we really are. I mean, we didn't really get to introduce ourselves last night," said Sirius, a mischievous grin playing at his lips.  
  
"Sirius Black," whispered the astonished and wide-eyed James, "I never implied such a thing! I don't know where that wicked mind of yours comes up with these things. Plus," James' evil smirk returning to him now, "we wouldn't want to do that before we left, because then they all would most likely be awake. We'd want to do that after we got back, not saying that we should or anything, or that we will..."  
  
"Oh, of course not. So, um, how are we planning to get around without any of the teachers catching us?"  
  
"Oh, we don't have to worry about all the teachers. Just one. Filch. Filch and his cat. Filch came to work at Hogwarts in my dad's sixth year. He was real young, like he hadn't even graduated from Hogwarts of anything. My dad says he looked like he was 15 or so. I'm thinking maybe they failed him, and old Professor Dippet had a kind heart after all. Anyway, he had this terrible white cat, which could catch anyone just as easy as he could. (My dad testifies she caught him many times.) Her name was Mrs. Norris. Unfortunately, at the beginning of my dad's seventh year, some rude and cruel person set her on fire, not giving any names, but lets just say my dad and Dolong couldn't stop laughing for ages… Anyway, a week later Filch had a new cat. A black one (probably black to morn for the other cat's flaming death) and he named it Mrs. Norris. So I'm thinking that Filch will have a cat named Mrs. Norris."  
  
"Great analogy. And a touching story, you'd be real great at bedtime stories, but if they both are out there, and we'll probably get caught, why and how are we going to get around without being caught?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Because I have a secret weapon one, which will penetrate even Filch and his cat's expertise in catching troublemakers. I have the ultimate devise to mischief. I own the one and only (well, I'm the only student that I know of, at least) recipe to walking around unnoticed. The key to my father's success…"  
  
"Okay, okay, get on with it ya little prat!"  
  
"I have a cloak of invisibility," James said grinning widely.  
  
"You what? How did you get an invisibility cloak? What did ya do? Steal it? How… I just can't see…those things are the hardest to come by. How did you manage it?" Sirius said, his mouth hanging slightly open.  
  
"Why yes, they are, aren't they? It's just so amazing that I would happen to own one. Don't you think? Just because I'm so intelligent…"  
  
"James, stop being an aggravating little twit, and just get on with it already!"  
  
"Fine, fine. My dad gave it to me. His dad gave it for him in his third year."  
  
"Well, where did your granddad get it from?"  
  
"How am I supposed to know? Anyway, just forget how he got it, just be glad that he passed it down the line so I got it, otherwise, I don't think that we would ever be able do half the things my dad and I have been planning since I was five!"  
  
"Okay, but I still think it's really weird that your granddad somehow got a hold of an invisibility cloak, but…"  
  
"But you'll drop it right? Cause if you don't, we could waste half the night arguing instead of exploring," James said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, okay let's just get going then, before I think of something else to say."  
  
"Good idea," James replied throwing the cloak over Sirius and himself.  
  
The two mischievous boys stumbled out of their tower room and tumbled down the stairs plunging into the waiting Gryffindor common room. They were surprised to see two seventh years sleeping on the couch, but were cautious not to wake them.  
  
James tiptoeing his way to the round exit tripped on Sirius' extended foot and fell with a thud out of the protection of the invisibility cloak and onto the scarlet colored carpeted (yet extremely hard) floor of the common room.  
  
"Sirius! No more messing around," hissed James through his teeth, rubbing his chin where he had hit the stone floor (he missed the carpet).  
  
The still invisible Sirius was quiet for a minute but then gave away his position by his unremitting laughter. James swung at the area were the laughter seemed to be coming from and hit Sirius square in the jaw, the cloak slipping off him. As the two seventh years stirred on the couch, James once again flung the cloak over the two of them, and hushed the angry yet hysterical Sirius into silence.  
  
As soon as the two on the couch were settled again, Sirius turned on James and hit him in the stomach. "Why'd you punch me?"  
  
"Sorry Sirius," whispered James angrily, "I guess that I was just really annoyed at you for tripping me!"  
  
"Well, maybe it was an accident," Sirius jeered back.  
  
"Yeah right. It's just a normal position for you to put your leg right in front of my feet just as I am about to walk. You just needed to stretch your legs really bad, right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's right. Why are you always so pissed about these kinds of things? I'm just messing around, just like you do."  
  
"Well, I guess you're right, I shouldn't get mad at you just because you're an annoying, stupid little prat. You can't help it, you were raised that way."  
  
"You making fun of the way my mum raised me, cause you better not be, seeing as how I pretty much turned out the same way as you did, meaning our mothers did that same job."  
  
"No sir-e. It's not my mum's fault that I'm like this. It's my dad's. The only reason I'm so weird is because I'm just like him."  
  
"Okay, enough. We really should just stop fighting. The way I see it, we can either be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies, and let me just say, I'd rather be on your side setting the pranks, then getting all your good ideas thrown in my face," Sirius admitted smiling.  
  
"I do have some pretty good ideas huh?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"In that case, we should definitely be friends. I mean, think of all the things we can do to Snape and McGonagall. I mean to know Dumbledore's office really well, how bout you?"  
  
"Me too. Remember, we still have to see who can set McGonagall's hair on fire first the bet is still on. Five Sickles says I see her hair in flames first."  
  
"Five Sickles!" exclaimed James. "What kind of a bet is five Sickles? No bet is any good unless it's a Galleon or higher. Tell you what, five Galleons say I set that witch's hair on fire long before you do."  
  
A moment's pause… then, "You're on!"  
  
"Okay, now let's go and see what we can find in the castle."  
  
"Sounds good to me. I just hope that we can steer clear of Filch!"  
  
The two exited through the portrait hole and walked through the hallway, trying to see if they could find their way back to the Great Hall, with no success. In little time at all they were utterly and completely lost.  
  
"How are we supposed to find our way around here? I mean we can't even find our own common room, let alone anything else," Sirius whispered as they walked past what looked to be the library for the fifth time. "They really should make a map of this place for the first years. I mean, surely we aren't the first to be lost in here?"  
  
"Map? That's a really good idea. We should have brought some parchment with us and then we could make a map. And we would be the only ones with a map and therefore the only ones who know every place there is to go in Hogwarts! It's brilliant!"  
  
"Brilliant as it may be James, it's kind of too late for you to be suggesting we bring parchment with us now. You do realize that we are lost and we don't have any parchment, don't you?"  
  
"Of course I do, but we have all night to find our way back to the common room, and then the next time we go out, we'll know the school a little better, hopefully, and we'll be able to find our way around in the dark, and I'm sure that we'll know the way to the library since we've gone past it six times," James said pointing to the large library as they passed it yet once again.  
  
"Who cares how to get to the library?" James opened his mouth to answer, but Sirius interrupted him. "Except Lily." James was silent.  
  
"Okay, so you have a point, but at least we know where something in the school is."  
  
"And pitiful as it is, that something isn't our common room," muttered Sirius.  
  
"Don't worry Sirius, we'll find it. These things just take a little time that's all."  
  
"We never should have gone tonight. We should have waited until we knew our way around a little better."  
  
"Don't you get it? Even though we are more or less lost…" "Definitely more," muttered Sirius. "…we know our way around better than any other first year. That puts us in the advantage. If we ever have to go to the library for studying or to get a book for a class, we'll be the first ones to find it, and the first ones to leave, and that would give us more time to explore. And since we know our way… a little… we can be late to class and blame it on not finding our way. They expect us to get lost some the first week or two."  
  
For a moment longer, that clueless look remained in Sirius' eyes, but then his face lightened up. "I get it now. If we can just find our way around a little better, then tomorrow we can be late to our first class and just say, 'Sorry, we got lost' and they wont get mad. There wont be a thing they can do about it, even if they suspect that we really were out exploring the castle, because there would have been others who were late as well, and if they punish us and not them, it would look unfair to the other students, and they don't really want to look unfair. So, do you think they have some spare parchment in the library that we can use to map our way back to the common room?"  
  
"Probably do, but I'm not planning on going back to the common room yet. We have to find out as much as we can, so that tomorrow we don't really get lost instead of only pretending to. Let's find our way back to the common room, and then see if we can find our way to the transfiguration corridor. That's our first class, I think."  
  
And so the boys entered the library and probed the front desk until in the bottom left drawer they found what they were looking for. There, neatly folded and stacked was a pile of clean parchments. Sirius grabbed one and James began searching for a quill and ink. It was quickly found in the top middle drawer.  
  
After James labeled a little black dot close to the middle of the parchment 'Library' he walked out into the hall and began marking where there where portraits and suits of armor. Soon enough, he had every detail within sight marked on the piece of paper on the library hallway.  
  
"Which way do you want to go? Left or right?" James asked.  
  
Sirius turned and looked both ways as if he were crossing the street, and then answered, "Left." So with parchment in hand they walked left and continued scripting every distinct things so they would be able to tell exactly where they were at all times, and what to expect.  
  
Soon they grew tired of writing where all the portraits where and what they were, and so they just did some of the more important traits. They soon reached more doorways and they opened them and drew what was in them as well.  
  
At 3:00 they finally found the Great Hall. "Oh fantastic. We know how to get to the Great Hall from the Library, but we still don't know where our common room is," Sirius muttered.  
  
And the tour sustained, with still no success of finding their common room. They did manage to find quiet a few secret passages though. There were a few obvious ones behind suits of armor that led from room to room; there were a few doors that were locked and couldn't be opened by the alohomora spell - but Sirius and James managed to get to passwords out of them by tickling them just right – and turned out to just be really fancy bathrooms with swimming pool sized bathtubs; there were some trapdoors hidden under the rugs, but most of them didn't lead anywhere but to a library or an empty corridor; one was hidden behind a portrait of a llama by a haystack that only opened if you tapped the bottom right corner three times with the back of your wand, while standing on one foot hopping up and down singing, "I'm a little teapot"; the portrait would then, and only then, swing open (revealing a small corridor that ended up leading back to the library.) Let's just assume that Sirius and his twisted mind was the one who figured out how to open that particular passageway.  
  
But the most rewarding secret passage they found completely on accident. It was close to 4:00 and they were both equally worn out. As they were grudgingly walking down the twenty-third staircase they had come across, Sirius – who was a stride ahead of James – began to sink into the step at an alarming rate.  
  
James pulled Sirius out of it quickly enough, but then his dark eyes light up. "What do you think would happen if you were to sink all the way through the stair?"  
  
Sirius looked suspiciously at the stair, and then shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."  
  
"How right you are," said James, right as he mercilessly pushed Sirius onto the sinking step, and backed out of his reach. "We all have to make sacrifices." Sirius scarcely had time to think –if he ever does think- before he was up to his waist and still sinking. All the time he was sinking, he tried to pull himself out (unsuccessfully) and kept saying things like, "I can't believe you did this" or "Is this some brutal joke of yours?" or "Cruelty to dumb animals is illegal you know." Before he knew it, he was out of comments and up to his neck with one of his arms glued to his side.  
  
Glaring up at the spot where he imagined James was, he hissed, "What a superb friend you are." Okay – obviously not completely out of comments, but he was up to his neck, and sinking still.  
  
"I can't believe I just did that," answered James' voice coming several feet to the right of where Sirius had been glaring. "I showed my barbarian side and all," James said grinning, but was a little less sure of him. "Oh man! I'm starting to go soft after all. Look Sirius, I still want to know if it goes anywhere. So, I'll grab your hand, and then you keep going down. If there is something cool down there, then let go and I'll follow you. If you want to come back up, then don't let you, and I will pull you back up." Sirius glared up skeptically at the grinning James. "It's either you trust me, or you stay there and keep sinking, and if there is a bottomless pit under the step, I can't pull you up in time, and then you will fall and fall until you hit the bottom of the bottomless pit. And then you'll be dead. And the people of China, they'll find you, and use your legs- which were broken off in the fall- to dig your grave."  
  
"Pretty similar choices, I think. Trust you, you'll end up killing me; don't trust you, have some Chinaman digging my grave with my broken off legs. Trust you, Chinaman. Trust you, Chinaman. I've always wondered what China would be like, is it fall there too, or is it spring or something?" said Sirius thoughtfully.  
  
"Just shut up and give me your hand." James extended a hand from beneath the cloak and thrust it into Sirius' own, damp one.  
  
"James? If you end up killing me here tonight, I'll never speak to you again."  
  
"Okay. Sounds far enough to me," James said keeping a straight face.  
  
Sirius continued to sink lower and lower until all that was showing were his fingertips. Sirius' grip on James' hand loosened and then let go altogether.  
  
James held his breath for a minute and then stepped onto the sinking step. Once he was up to his waist, he felt a hand begin to pull on the end of his robe. "Oh how I hope that is Sirius," James half whispered half whimpered under his breathe. The pulling on his robe continued and grew stronger.  
  
Finally James sank through the step and fell on a soft, feathery chair. There standing on the back of the chair was a grinning Sirius, holding a piece of James' robe, which had ripped from being pulled so hard. "Isn't this place great?" he asked waving his hand at the room behind him and throwing the piece of James' robe at the wall where it then bounced nicely into a trash bin.  
  
James looked around and saw that the large round room they were in was comfortably furnished with squishy bright colored chairs, a fireplace, games, a small kitchen, as well as three high poster beds. On the back wall was a seven-foot oak door with a large brass handle.  
  
"Let's see what's in there," suggested James.  
  
"Alright," said Sirius as he stood up and began walking towards it. He opened it a crack and his jaw dropped.  
  
"What is it?" James said rushing over to the door where Sirius was standing open mouthed. James pushed the door open the rest of the way and peered into the room as well. "Oh wow." His jaw dropped. He swallowed hard and rubbed his hands together. "Paradise, here I come." 


	9. To Have Paradise Taken Away

Chapter Nine – To Have Paradise Taken Away  
  
"I… I… I don't know what to say… Am I seeing things, or is this room really full of crates that are bursting at the rim with dungbombs?"  
  
"You aren't seeing things James. At least not things that I'm not seeing too! And not just dungbombs look, frogspawn soap, nose biting teacups, and hiccup sweets too! So this is what heaven is like."  
  
"You never thought you'd see heaven did you?"  
  
"Nope. You can imagine what a surprise it is for me to have actually made it. But wait, did we die, I don't remember the pain."  
  
"Me neither, but it must have happened. Maybe right now, there's some guy in China digging our graves..."  
  
"With our legs… I don't think so."  
  
"Okay, so maybe that could never happen and we aren't dead, but this place has everything! I could live here! Do you know how long this stuff is going to keep us busy?" James said more to himself than to Sirius.  
  
"About a week," Sirius said looking at the dozens of boxes scattered and stacked about the room. "Maybe two."  
  
"Funny, Sirius, really. You have that humor thing down to a point. But can't you ever be serious?"  
  
"Of course I can. I am every day. I was Sirius the day I was born."  
  
"Alright, enough with this Sirius/serious scenario. It's really starting to bug me. And if you don't stop, I'm going to have to kill you and ship your remnants to China."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll make a deal. You stop with the China and leg digging stuff, and I'll quit it with the serious stuff. I'll never be serious again. Deal?"  
  
"Okay. But I'm really going to miss my Chinaman."  
  
Both James and Sirius began to walk around the room inspecting the boxes. Seeing all their treasures for the first time. After they had both gone around the room several times, Sirius noticed something pinned to the wall.  
  
"Look at this James! It's a map of Hogwarts, without all the secret passages. This is sure going to make mapping Hogwarts easier. Now all we have to do is find all the tunnels and stuff. That can't take us more than what, a month?"  
  
James snatched the crinkled and ripped parchment from Sirius' grasp and studied it intensely. "This is great. It has a lot of detail. We'll need to copy it onto another parchment though. This one is going to fall apart soon, and plus there isn't any room for the grounds around Hogwarts. We're going to want to map them too."  
  
"Whatever you say, but for now, let's just use this one. Here, I'll copy down all the stuff we already have," Sirius said snatching the map back. He hurriedly copied the information and 13 passages they already knew about on the parchment in his untidy scrawl. Just as he was about to add the chamber that they were in to the map, James stopped him.  
  
"Let's leave this one out, just in case this map falls into the wrong hands."  
  
"Like Snape, oh he who is perfect," Sirius said automatically.  
  
"To torture," James said thinking of Aeris, who wasn't quiet right in the head, or so it seemed to him at least.  
  
"Like Filch," continued Sirius.  
  
"Like McGonagall," James said his eyes darkening.  
  
"Or like Lily"  
  
"Who would turn it into McGonagall," finished James with a lopsided grin.  
  
Just as Sirius had rolled up the map and stuffed it into his robe, the heavy oak door creaked and began to open. James had just enough time to throw the invisibility cloak over Sirius and himself before the door was opened the rest of the way and a scrawny gray cat with white feet and tail tip stalked into the room followed closely behind by a talk lanky man with gray eyes, brown streaked with gray hair, and a nasty grin. The cat stopped abruptly causing the man to step on her tail. She yowled and raked her claws at his leg. To James' surprise the man didn't get mad at the cat, instead he apologized. "I'm sorry, my sweet, just a little clumsy tonight." The feline meowed softly and began to lick its foreleg. The man took this as forgiveness and turned his attention back to the room. He looked right through where James and Sirius were standing and gazed at the candle they had left on a crate.  
  
"They were here, my sweet. Not so long ago. The candle is still burning. Could have been Diggle, but he wouldn't have gone out like this on the first day. Must have been a first year. From the look of the Sorting, I'm guessing Black and Potter. Can you smell them? If I could catch them, that Professor Motch could never say I was useless again."  
  
As Filched circled the room, the two-cloaked imps slowly made their way to the door. Just as they were about to reach it, Filch began to speak to Mrs. Norris again.  
  
"It's a good thing that Headmaster is getting this place cleaned out tomorrow. I'd hate to think of what could be done if Diggle got his hands on these boxes."  
  
James and Sirius both thought the same thing at once. If they were clearing it out tomorrow, they better get their hands on what they could today. So they made their way back to the nearest crate and set in motion the doing of cramming their pockets with everything that they could. To their relief, Filch didn't seem to hear or even notice them.  
  
They tiptoed their way out of the room and back up through the stair without a single creak. Needless to say, they were both very pleased with themselves. And very happy about the night's events, even if the room would be cleared out by tomorrow, at least they had gotten their mischievous little hands on some of the merchandise.  
  
On their way back to their common room (they found that they weren't even close, it probably would have taken them a good three or more hours to find) they worked out their plan. They would get shaving cream from the bathroom and bowls of warm water. Toilet paper, markers, honey and string would also be useful, but they only knew where to find the toilet paper and the string. They could tell already that the bathroom was going to be their main source of resources, unless they could get into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
Peter had just managed to get to sleep again after his third nightmare, when the fourth one struck. He had never had a bout of homesickness this bad before. At least not since he had be forced to go to that muggle military summer camp when he was eight. He had been dreaming his favorite dream. No one knew who Jon was. So he wasn't known as Jon's little brother, and no one expected him to be great. But he was. He was just like Jon in his dream, and that was the good part about it.  
  
His dream had started out good. It was one of his favorites. He had been in the hospital recovering from the measles in his dream, just like Jon had been this summer. His mother had come in and had been comforting him, just like she did Jon. She fed him and pressed a cool wet cloth on his forehead, just like she had done for Jon. She gathered his large pillow in her arms and began to fluff it. But then, she got this evil glint in her warm blue eyes. It was quite horrifying. But that wasn't even the worst part yet. She eyed the white pillow in her arms and in a quick fluent movement, jammed it over his face and tried to suffocate him.  
  
"AHH!" Peter promptly sat straight up in bed. He looked around the room. He couldn't see anything and not because it was night, because he knew it had to be after 4:30 since that was what time it was the last time he had woken up from his sickening nightmare. His hand slowly went to his face, and he was surprised to feel that it was covered with shaving cream and toilet paper. That explained why he couldn't see and probably the new part in the dream. Suffocating. Gulp.  
  
Peter wiped all the shaving cream from his face that he could and rubbed it into his sheets. He threw his covers off him and stepped out of bed planning to find out what was going on. Peter squinted around the room but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. But the drapes were drawn so it was hard to see. Peter had only moved his left foot forward a little in the direction of the window. But it was enough, enough for him to trip on the string that had been strung around his bed. Thud. He tried to get up off the floor but only got even more hopelessly tangled in the mess of knots and cord.  
  
Shouts of, "Eww! Disgusting!" and "Whoever did this is going to pay" as well as several fearful shouts like the one Peter had given seemed to echo throughout the room. Apparently someone had gone insane as well because there was out of control laugher added to the shouts of anger. Just as Peter had managed to stand up, someone screamed very high and very long, nearly causing him to fall back down again. There wasn't a girl in here was there?  
  
Peter opened the drapes to light up the room so he wouldn't trip on any of the string and cord strewn about the room and made his way to the closest bed to check it's inhabitant. He opened the bed curtain to reveal Ferric who was in much the same situation as Peter was in, minus tripping on the string. Instead, he had been nearly mummified with toilet paper, towels and string. Peter helped him unravel himself and then they moved on to the next bed where moaning could be heard from within.  
  
In the next bed was a sulking Zell who was embarrassed to tell them had that he had peed the bed. But it wasn't his fault, he claimed; someone one had placed both his hands in warm water. They left Zell to sulk, trying to keep straight faces.  
  
As the continued their round about the room, they discovered that Chez was the one who had been laughing so hard. He was obviously not mad in the least about the prank. He instead seemed fairly happy. Like it was all a big joke, which it of course was. His cheerful mood was very uplifting to Peter. After all, it wasn't that big of a deal, was it? Turns out nothing all that bad had been done to him anyway. He had marker or something all over his face. It was actually quite amusing. It had crude drawings of people, animals, mountains and stars. The culprits were obvious not very artistic. On his forehead, they had played a game of tic-tac-toe. The O's had won. Chez also had a minor case of shaving cream hair, but he didn't make a big deal about it. He kept looking into the mirror and laughing though.  
  
When they first saw Seifer, they couldn't even tell what was wrong, but they knew something must be because he was furious. All that looked strange to Peter, was the Seifer's hair was no longer spiked up. Instead, his dreads (A/N: dreadlocks for the unknowing among you) where limp "There is gum in my hair! I'm going to kill you guys!" the enraged Seifer exclaimed, his hands in fists.  
  
"Calm down man. It wasn't us. It must have been some older guys doing a prank," Ferric said.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry about it. It isn't that bad. HEY! Look at the cool hieroglyphics on my face!" Chez said, still excited.  
  
"You don't seem to understand! There is gum in my HAIR!" Seifer yelled.  
  
"Cool down, a little peanut butter and that will come right out. It happened to my little sister once…. And I had nothing to do with it," grinned Ferric.  
  
Peter eyed Seifer a little resentfully. What kind of person cares about his hair this much? "Let's go see how the other two faired." They went to Sirius' bed and found it empty.  
  
"A little suspicious, neh?" Seifer sneered.  
  
"Eh. A little. But we can't just assume that it was… SIRIUS!" Chez exclaimed. He had opened James' curtains and exposed two red faced black haired boys. They looked up and burst into wheezing laughter. They had obviously been trying to hold it in for some time now.  
  
"That was the best!" gasped Sirius once their laughter had died down and he had begun catch his breathe.  
  
"So you admit to doing this?" the fuming Seifer asked.  
  
"Course not. The convicts struck us too. See," James said pointing to his hair that was its usual mess only with shaving cream and string added to the chaos as well.  
  
"And me too," Sirius said pointing to his check. He had a sketch on it of what looked to be a poor drawing of a boat and either a whale or a submarine. Chez eyed the boat for a moment and then announced, "Mine are better."  
  
"You wish," scoffed Sirius. "Yours are just stupid little aborigines worshipping some cows."  
  
"So that's what they're doing," Chez said studying the drawings on his face in the mirror near him on the wall. "I was wondering what they heck was going on. But now that you point it out, I can kinda see it. At least I can if a squint and turn my head to the left a little."  
  
Ferric squinted and gazed at Chez. "Oh! I so see it now!"  
  
"Don't any of you care that there is gum in my hair? If you don't you should. I need peanut butter and I need it now." Seifer's face was red and he looked like he might faint.  
  
"Peanut butter? Nah, you don't need peanut butter. I know a spell that will take that right out."  
  
"And why would I trust you, Sirius? It was you that did this to me."  
  
"Hey now! Be fair. It was me who put the gum in your hair, but it was his idea. But he was too chicken to do it. Oh, and it was Ferric's gum."  
  
Ferric was going to say something but before he could Sirius turned on James. "Whatever! I wanted to do it too, but you just wanted all the credit for yourself. That is so like you. And now you're going on about me not even wanting to stick the gum in his hair. And I suppose that you are going to take credit for the pictures on Chez' face too!"  
  
"Course not. They all suck anyway. 'Cept for the second cow, that beaut's mine. Oh by the way, I won in tic-tac-toe."  
  
"Hey the second cow is better!" realized Chez.  
  
James looked at where Chez was looking and rubbed his forehead. "No, that's the first cow."  
  
"Oh. Then the first cow is better. Good job Sirius."  
  
"Thanks… Wait you mean this? No that is the first cow. This right here is a cat."  
  
"That's a cat?" questioned James.  
  
"And that's a cow?" asked Chez. "Your cartoons suck."  
  
"I know," grinned Sirius.  
  
"So where did you guys get the marker anyway. It doesn't really look like ink," remarked Chez, still staring at his reflection in the mirror.  
  
"Let me see, the black stuff is mascara, the red is lipstick, and the other colors are eye stuff, all complement of a raid of the girls bathroom," Sirius said in his smiley announcer guy voice.  
  
"Hmm, alright. Kid with gum in his hair –still- standing right here. Waiting."  
  
"Okay, okay. Hold your horses." Sirius rubbed his chin in thought. "What was that spell again? Oh yes, I remember." Sirius said something under his breath and poof; the gum was out of Seifer's hair.  
  
"What did you do?" screamed Seifer looking in the mirror at the reflection of him with no hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes. He was about to punch Sirius –hard- but seeing the danger Sirius quickly said, "If you hit me I wont change it back to normal." Seifer's fist stopped millimeters from Sirius' face.  
  
"Go ahead and hit him. This has gone far enough I'll change it back," James said flicking out his wand from his pocket. Sirius' face turned a deep red in an amazingly short time and he jumped across the room, out of Seifer's reach.  
  
"No, no! I went too far! I'll change it back!" Another mutter under his breath, and poof it was back. Like magic. ( 


End file.
